I'm Now A Real Hero

There is an old Chinese saying:
"You're not a true hero until you climb The Great Wall". Now I have done just that.

We spent our first day in China visiting the legendary Great Wall. Trekking up the Great Wall was no walk in the park. At some points we were at a 60 degree angle. It felt like a ladder. We climbed to the highest point possible from the section of the wall we were at - about 850 meters above sea level. We were exhausted when we finally reached the top, but so excited to be there. It was one of my dreams come true! I can't imagine what it would have been like to climb the Wall everyday with battle armor like so many soldiers from the past. By the time we made it to the top, our time was running short - we were the only people from our group to climb to the top and we didn't want to be late returning and keep everyone waiting. So, instead of walking down the entire wall we took the easy way out and rode a cable car back down. I don't think the Chinese soldiers were able to ride cable cars down.

I had an interesting experience on the wall. I didn't think Americans were so exotic looking, but I don't know, maybe we are. I was walking along the wall when a Chinese girl gestured to me. At first, I thought that she wanted me to take a picture of her and her father, but I soon realized that she wanted to take a picture with me. So, we posed together and the dad took the picture. I thought it was very strange, but I couldn't help feeling a little bit like a celebrity!