Great Wall 10K

I must admit I don't have a true bucket list.  BUT, if I did, this would have been on it and now I would be able to check it off!!

The Great Wall Marathon was on Saturday.  Some friends and I flew out Friday morning to make our trek up to the Wall and stay the night at a farmers hostel.  I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the hostel as my expectations weren't very high at all. I was picturing dirt floors and squat pots with chickens pecking at our heads.  Instead we were greeted with beds (still hard Chinese beds), feather pillows and a western bathroom in each room.  We had each packed some food and enjoyed our smorgasbord of pb&j, pizza, nuts and even some Vegemite courtesy of the Aussies:)

Our 10K didn't begin until 9:30 Saturday, although we were awakened at the crack of dawn (think 3:45AM) by the delightful sound of a rooster right outside our window.  I think between the sounds and nerves it was the worst night sleep I have ever had!



my first view of The Wall, taken from the hostel




our first potty stop location on the race




As in true Chinese fashion our transportation to the race did not show up so we had to hitch a ride with some camera crew to the start.  The day was already heating up and as it turned out it happened to be about 30 degrees C (87 degrees F).  We were ready though....look at those race faces!!

pre-race

 The views were amazing!  The stairs and The WAll were unbelievable.  It is mind boggling to know that men (probably little men) carried all these rocks through the mountains to build this thing.  I am glad I was only walking this race because I was able to pause and enjoy the view and soak it all in.


yup, I just came up those stairs



see the trail of people behind us, yes they are going up and we are soon going to be joining them


Saturday night we pampered ourselves by staying in a nice hotel in Beijing, eating a yummy Italian dinner followed by a kid free leisurely breakfast on Sunday and foot massages.


I really want to thank my team of four (Kim, Chris, Tiani and myself) for doing this challenge.  I am so proud of all us.  Way to go Kim and Tiani for finishing so strong and running the race.  Special thanks to my rock Chris who stayed by my side and even pushed me to shuffle (aka jog) for almost 2 miles, I could not have finished when I did without you!  I also have to say THANK GOD for the bootcamp we have all been doing 3x/week, it really did get us prepared.  IF I happen to be here next year I would do it all over again!!

Summertime Performance

Brycen had his Summertime performance at school last week.  This was really exciting because this was the first time his class has ever done anything on the stage.  They sang and danced to a song called Froggy Hop and then sang and did sign language for You Are My Sunshine.  It was sooo cute.  I have video of it but between trying to watch and film at the same time it is pretty shaky.

Just when I think he is getting taller, I see that he is still 1/2 head shorter than his friends.



Having fun with his friend Edmond



Hangzhou

A few weeks ago we had a long holiday weekend and decided to take the fast train to Hangzhou.  Driving  would have taken around 3 hours but the train got us there in 45 minutes.   It was so exciting to watch Brycen's face as the countryside whizzed by but even funnier to see how scared he got when another train passed inches from our window. 
Because it was a holiday it was VERY crowded which made for some S L O W walks around the lake.  I loved the atmosphere.  The cherry blossoms were out, there were mountains surrounding the lake and the weather was perfect.  
We visited Lingyin Temple which is one of the largest and most visited Buddhist temples in China.  It was interesting to see monks performing a ceremony.  Being the skeptic that I am, I really want to believe that the ceremony is authentic and not just for the sake of the tourists.

 As I have described before the Chinese love foreign kids.  LOVE THEM.  Below is an example of a very normal outing with both kids and the kind of attention they get. It truly does make you sympathize (for a brief moment) with animals at the zoo.