Babie Lovin' and Great Wall of China

Author: Ben T
Location: Beijing
Lucky me. I get to write the first blog. To begin with, the first night was difficult thanks to the time change, because I kept thinking about how I would normally be wide awake doing something with my friends back in NY.
Today was the first day we actually got to see the orphans. During Brent's speech he told us to observe how the nurses hold and handle the babies. One thing Brent stressed a lot was to not hold the premature baby, because it was so little at 2.5 pounds. When we got to the orphanage, my first impression was that it was clean and it seemed like a nice environment for the children. As soon as Leah and I walked into the room with the premature baby, there was a nurse holding the little girl out gesturing for us to hold her. At first, Leah was unsure what to do, but ended up giving into the beautiful little girl as she lifted her from the nurses hands, absolutely shocked at how light she was. That one baby soon became her favorite as she nicknamed her Elizabeth (a big name for a little girl). As for me, I wanted to wait until the next day to hold such a fragile baby.
I turned my attention to a young girl about 1 or 2 who had a heart defect and was on oxygen 24/7. She was really great to interact with. My favorite part about her was that when she got excited, she would pound her leg against her rocker and smile. My nickname for her now is "thumper".
The other orphan I felt a connection with was about 3 or 4, and as soon as I walked into his room he greeted me with a big smile and a wave. This made me feel really good. To the delight of the girls on our trip from Chicago, this little boy was wearing a Jayden or Derrick Rose Chicago Bulls jersey. After a short time at the orphanage, it was time for us to leave. Although we spent little time with the two orphans the first day, I felt it was a good starting point for both of us and the young children.
Next on our agenda we were going to what Brent says is the nicest, but steepest part of the Great Wall of China. As soon as I laid eyes on the wall I got very excited, because I have always been fascinated with architectural structures. Most of us brought a backpack with some supplies in it, but all I brought was a water bottle, my camera and my hiking legs (boy was I gonna need them). With every watch tower that I reached, there was another one to be reached ahead. After about 45 minutes of labor, Stephanie and I finished the long trek to the end- and for what I could see it was the highest point of the wall. Reaching the top of the wall was a little bitter sweet. Sweet in that we accomplished something great and that we had a marvelous view. Bitter in that there was no elevator to greet us at the top and take us down. As a few of us were walking down we met an Indian man half way down. The first thing this man asked us is if we are American. We replied YES and he told us that Michael Jackson had passed away today. Our initial reaction was that we were thinking of different Michael Jacksons, so we asked him if it was the Thriller guy. He replied Yes and started singing Beat It. After we left this man, we believed he was just pulling our legs. It was not until I talked to my mom and she confirmed his death that I believe it. Anyway, after the hike I was very proud to say that I climbed the Great Wall of China.
Lastly, once we got back to our compound we all went to the local food shop and bought some snacks and ice cream. I decided to be adventurous and buy corn flavored ice cream. I personally was not a big fan of it, because if I wanted to taste corn I would have bought corn. Everybody seemed to be fond of the corn flavored ice cream and said they will most likely have it again. I am looking forward to many more fun filled days in Beijing with a great group of people.
Flickr Photos from Today
Flickr Photos from this Voyage