Note - this post was written some time ago. But, hey better late than never.
Oh hey there! I know it’s been while. It seems like moving to China is somehow like entering a time vortex. I’m genuinely in shock that as I write this it’s the third of November. I feel as if I blinked and October came and went.
Well, it’s safe to say we’re accustomed to our lives in Tianjin. The main melody of our life goes something like, work, class, study, and repeat. Which, I’m not too upset about. Especially considering that my classmates have quickly turned into friends, my study partner is my husband, and my work is both fun and rewarding.
Anyways, a few weeks ago we took a trip to the great wall, and let me tell you. It was great. I’m sorry, I can’t help it. But seriously, it was an awesome experience. Not only because I got to stand on the Great Wall one of the wonders of the world, but also the company in which I stood with. Like I said, my classmates have become my friends.
The day started off with waking up at the crack of dawn. Technically, it started the night before. When I found myself trying to pack lunch for the next day with limited resources. I decided to buy pre-made sandwiches from a local cafe stand and an avocado. The first thing I bought? The knife for the avocado. Now, mind you, a smart person would first check that the market had avocados before making an investment in the knife. I am no such person. Sure enough after I bought the knife I went to the little on campus produce market and they were all out of avocados.
It was well past dark and getting later. A smart person would cut their losses grab the sandwiches and get some rest. Because, they had a very early start the next day. I am no such person. I called my husband, informed of the situation and told him I was embarking on a journey to find an avocado. Why? Because I’d already bought the knife. There was one market that I knew of nearby so, I headed that way immediately. No luck. Then, I remembered passing another small produce market on the way home from one of our favourite western style restaurants. I thought I’d give that market a try. It was farther than I’d remembered, but I got there in a cool eight minutes. When I arrived. No avocados.
Where were the avocados? Are they out of season? I didn’t think so. Was there an avocado emergency and they’d all been picked out by a local salad bar? Plausible but unlikely. How many times had I walked by any one of these markets lusting after avocados to satisfy my west coast sensibilities. Yet on this day of all days, in my hour of need. They were no where to be found. Feeling like I’d exhausted this direction, I decided to go back to school, and head the opposite direction on the same road. Ah-ha! A market. Literally a two-minute walk from campus. Wasted time set aside, I pulled out my phone and triumphantly bought the best looking avocado I could find, with a couple bananas to boot. Anyways, a delicious packed lunch secured, I was ready for the adventures of the next day.
The Great Wall was about three and a half hours by bus from the school. We all left together at the crack of dawn. Like many school trips we sat with our friends and we joyfully talked almost the full way there. The great wall itself was fantastic. Beautiful, and huge! The hike was the hard part. I definitely wasn’t prepared for all the stairs. But, in the end, it was definitely worth it. To be able to look at the wall winding down through the mountain was so fascinating. The leaves were beginning to change and the air was crisp. At the top you could admire layering mountains as far as the eye could see.
We hiked for almost two hours and took a lunch break before heading back down to the bus. Let me tell you, the avocado was worth it. ;)