This past weekend we took a trip to the Great Wall, hiked on the wall for about two hours, and slept over in the very small village of Simitai where we ate incredible local corn bread, huddled around a small fire, and watched fireworks as they were being launched only 10 feet away from us. Now I am preparing for a long weekend trip next weekend to Wutai Shan where a large Buddhist monastery resides amongst grottoes and very large Buddhas carved in the mountain sides.

Every day I take a 45-minute walk to and from school through a lovely park called "Zi Zhu Yuan" (Purple Bamboo Park) and get to observe the many elderly Chinese walking at a fast pace slapping their backs and chests for exercise, young girls leisurely playing badminton, and small groups of adults passing around a kind of hacky sack with pretty colorful feathers stuck to one end. Some even follow free classes of Tai Qi. Others get together and tap dance along the walls. You can even stumble upon a couple of groups following ballroom dancing lessons.

In the very center of the park is a very popular bakery set up in a white cement block where lines of people, resembling a small stock exchange, break deals with the bakery ladies on how much they want to pay for a few ounces of starchy sweets and fluffy pastries resembling nothing that I've seen before.

My Chinese Baba (dad) actually took me there one morning and we bought so many yummy goodies that they have lasted us all week. But only a week! I must admit though, the sweets here in China are quite different and often not that sweet.

This is a little boy fetching small fish from the polluted canal, but I thought he looked so perfect against the colorful traditional row boats.

In case you haven't heard ... the Olympics are coming to Beijing! And I have to admit it is probably one of the best things that could happen to this place because it has forced the city to clean up its act and its pollution problem. So, now I am proud to say that I CAN see the sky and the sun almost every day, but especially during the 17th National Congress held just this week.

The city is being rejuvenated as buildings are being restored and fun decorations line the most random areas. Such as this lovely glowing poster of the planets along a white-stone bridge over the canal. This is just behind the Bei Wai campus and you only really notice it at night. It's funny, though, because the glow is so intense that the trash just beneath become illuminated.

The Great Wall adventures begins, and it was so hard to concentrate on where your next step was because, as you can see, the surrounding scenery was unusual but breathtaking. I have never in my life seen mountain ranges this varied and drastically rolling and I only wish I had paid more attention in geology class.

We woke up at 4:30 a.m. to witness the sunrise from the highest peak of the wall at Simitai. We made it just in time, and hiking/climbing in the dark was worth every break of sweat and scratch. From this view, you can see the wall stretch and weave for what seems like miles.

This is a daring group of IES kids who decided to switch locations during the sunrise to a better one just a little further East. More climbing, but a fascinating view!