Mar 29, 2011 This morning we woke up pretty early to a breakfast of toast and jam and then got ready to head out to the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City is the biggest complex of palaces in the world and was built by one of the ancient Chinese dynastic families. It was really cool, but super crowded and we couldnt hear many of the explanations of our guide because our group was so big. As a result we had an awesome time taking silly pictures and acting like idiots. We had so many paparazzi following us around. You know that stereotype about Chinese people taking pictures? Completely true. We had men with big cameras blatantly snapping pictures of us from only a few feet away. I wont pretend we werent flattered though. After we left the Forbidden City we went to a restaurant that served traditional Chinese food, including Peking duck. It was pretty delicious, just very greasy and heavy, I could only take a few bites. Then we headed out to yet another market- the silk market. This place was basically just an indoor market, and on every floor there were different types of stands. They sold everything- shoes, silk robes, tea sets, movies, bags- all of which I bought. Kelly and I walked around and did some power shopping then got some McDonalds before we got on the bus (fourth trip to McDs in China). When we got on the bus we settled in for a 2-hour ride out into the countryside to see the Great Wall of China. I stole Merediths seat while she was visiting with Jenna and I had a whole row to myself so I promptly fell asleep. When we arrived at dinner we knew we would be cold that evening so we all got our coats and sweats out of our bags and repacked them for our overnight on the Great Wall of China. Yes I said it- we slept on the Great Wall of China. But back up to dinner, where we all ate disgusting local food and then bought hats that resemble stuffed pandas. After dinner we received our sleeping bag, mat, and flashlight and were told we have a leisurely 10-minute walk ahead of us. Lies, all lies. It was a tough 40-minute hike on uneven steps that were really steep. All of us had so much stuff with us (including many bottles of liquor) and we had bundled up so we were all huffing and puffing when we got to the top. But it was completely worth it- the starts alone I would have paid to see. It was amazing, and everyone was thrilled. We all set our stuff down and turned on some music and started relaxing. The beer provided by the tour company was gone in about an hour, by maybe 8 pm. It was crazy how fast everyone finished their drinks. Then we heard some commotion coming from a little ways down the steps. Pretty soon people were sprinting up the wall calling for the guide, and we learned that someone had fallen. I want to be really clear about this- the girl who fell DID NOT have alcohol in her system, it was not any part of the reason that she fell. The steps all over the wall are very steep and uneven and very thin, it could have happened to any of us. She had fallen about 18 feet down an entire flight of stairs and wasnt moving. Some of the students had medical training and rushed to her side, and it was determined she needed to get to the hospital. They ripped down the doors (yes, the ancient doors from the Great Wall) to use as a stretcher and after about 30 minutes of struggling down the side of the wall they got her into a van and off to a hospital in Beijing. There was so much confusion about what was going on during this whole thing, but we found out later that shes doing better, which is a miracle. Needless to say we were all pretty somber after that so we got our sleeping bags out and set them up to sleep. Meredith and I zipped our bags together for warmth, which was the smartest thing Ive ever done. It was freezing up there, Im talking like below 30 degrees. So we settled in to snuggle through a pretty sleepless night.
