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For those of you who don't know, my international travels for 2007 aren't over just yet. On June 23rd, I'm headed back to Israel to reunite with my man. It will be nearly 7 months since we've seen each other. Barak has been an incredible sense of strength and love during the darkest moments of the past 10 months and I am so incredibly excited to see him.
I'll be helping him wrap-up the past year that he's spent in Israel and getting ready for setting up our new life and home outside of Philadelphia. On our way back to the US, we're stopping for about a week in the south of France to visit his brother Amit.

On August 7, we'll be back in the US, officially, and will begin the rat race to set up our home and our lives!

Saying Farewell to China

Matt left to return to Shijiazhuang on Monday, May 7, and it left me a good three days to relax and reflect on my time in China. There was a wonderful feeling that came over me during my first week or so there. I felt a true sense of completeness. I knew that at this time in my life, I am meant to work in China, for the Chinese people. The ambiguity of where my career would take me in terms of my career feels settled. I know what I want, and I'm carving a way now to get there.
Needless to say, I was incredibly depressed during the last two weeks of my time there (and nearly cutting off my finger didn't make me feel any better about it). Although in my head I keep thinking that I should have devoted the past year to China, I know that making my trip more broad and spending time in 19 other countries really allowed me to challenge myself and force me to grow in ways that I never could have only living in a country where I speak the language.

It's quite emotional now to reflecting back on my experience. And as of today - June 11, 2006 - I have been "state-side" for a month. Luckily I've been at my parents' retreat in Chico and was lucky enough to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday metropolitan life. Last week I spent 4 days in Southern California visiting friends and now I'm back in Chico preparing for the next leg of this adventure called life.

The Great Wall - Simatai

Day three was a trip to the Simatai section of the Great Wall. We tried to make it out there using our Chinese language skills and Lonely Planet knowledge of all the scams. We made it to one of Beijing's informal bus stations by 10am, but were told that we missed the last minibus (aka minivan) directly to Simatai, but we could get to Minyin (a smaller suburb of Beijing) and catch a taxi from there. For those people headed to China who don't speak Chinese, this was relatively simple. There was actually a group of volunteers at the bus station with a thick book of FAQ's and answers in English. AMAZING!!!
The bus ride took about 2 hours and then it was time to negotiate the rate to the Wall's visitor entrance. Matt and I decided to play good travelor/bad traveler where he translated my biding war with the driver so that he didn't have to seem like the bully. It was all working out fine until I slipped and started speaking to him in Chinese! Luckily, we had already negotiated the fee.

The day was quite beautiful for a hike up one of the modern world's greatest sites. There were relatively few tourists at this section of the wall (most go to Badaling, NE of Beijing). There was a HI hostel just inside the gates and a couple of overpriced places to eat. The climb up was relatively easy, but there is always the option to pay the $10 for the cable car up the mountain and walking down. We were true to the task at hand and slowly made our way up. We made plenty of stops along the way to marvel not only at the craftsmanship and history of the wall, but also at the beautiful nature that was surrounding us. Although the mountains are not nearly as majestic as the Himalayas, every mountain landscape I've had the privilege of seeing with my own eyes has been breath-taking, and this view was no exception.
This and other visitor sections of the Great Wall have been restored to some degree, so the authenticity of the experience is somewhat not as rustic as I would like. I'm not sure if I will take the plunge and try another section next summer when I go back to northern China to see my host family and watch the Olympics, but we shall see.