(The hike up on the unrestored portion of the Wall)
The weather for the hike was gorgeous! It was sunny and clear blue skies not the typical Beijing weather we normally get (smog) so I was really grateful. It took us about 2 hours to hike up the mountain to reach the wall where we had to keep following the wall back to the restored portion of the wall. We crossed broken down portion of the wall where it was very easy to slip and fall off the wall. In my head, I kept thinking please don't let a kid fall off or slip or twist an ankle! Luckily, all the kids made it in one piece across and Team Moderate/Team X'treme was cheering on our kids as they approached the restored portion which was a great boost of energy. I'm glad these kids have settled into the idea of family now with each other. The cheering and encouragement really shows the support they have for everyone.
(The path where we came from-had to climb through this window)
After reaching the fortress on the restored part, we had lunch and prepared for the student presentation. They had 3 different topics regarding the Great Wall: Past, Myths and Modern views of the Great Wall. The kids had awesome presentations where they used the information given and ran with it. After the educational bits were done, we continued onwards so we could explore more of the wall and make our way down the restored part so we could get back to the city in time.
(Us facilitators joining on the fun)
As we passed different forts on the wall, we climbed upon them and took lots of jumping photos which is a must clearly lol I believe the kids really did enjoy the day and even though most thought they were going to die from the hike, in the end it was truly worth it for them personally and overall great experience.
Within the same night, we had a social event where we laid out sleeping bags in the common room and watched Mulan through the night. It was a great conclusion to the night because the kids was just at the Great Wall as well as Forbidden City in the same week.
Sunday rolled by and they had history class and we surprised them with KTV afternoon filled with English music. Kids sang Bieber, Kanye, Drake, Zedd as well as Beyonce. Everyone had a great time singing and dancing. This was a great break for everyone in general because usually we pack the schedule with heavy items that need to done.
Today is the start of a new week--new excursions and even more new experiences that needs to be had.
'Till another time.
Deuces
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