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Monday, June 11, 2001 4:33 AM
whew! i have eaten dinner and am now at sichuan normal
university in chengdu. it is quite different here and
tropical. i have to make this one short because i must
prepare for my big speech tomorrow. we are all to
dress up and the president of the university will be
there.
i climbed to
the top of the great wall!! we went to some pass
(sorry to forget the name, but it starts with a "j").
it is unbelievable. the steps are really steep and you
just step up and up and up and up. quite a work out
and it's a good thing i do cowles mountain. so, i
forged ahead and got some long needed alone time. i
got to the top and was able to hang out on the watch
tower while a small group also made it to the top. so,
after getting to the top, i felt i deserved one of
those "i climbed the great wall" t-shirts. going down
was quite challenging, as well. some of the steps were
so tall that i was jumping down. also, the steps
created an optical illusion where they no longer had
depth and they looked like a flat tile walkway.
concentration was the key. (they also had a doctor's
office at the bottom.)
today, we flew into chengdu. we are staying in a dorm
at the university and it is quite rustic. i am hoping
to get a good night's sleep. didn't get to nap. did i
mention that i am a little tired? i am at a cyber cafe
on campus, by the way.
while we are here in chengdu, we are going to the
panda bear park (where they live and play). we are
also going to see the giant buddha--you can park a car
on his toe! we will also be visiting a day care center
and a ob/gyn clinic tomorrow, which will really be
great!
we leave on saturday morning to spend the weekend in
xi'an to see the terra cotta soldiers. then, we will
leave for the united states on tuesday, i guess.
as the internet cafe is cheap and right across from
our dorm room, you will all get more morsels of my
adventures.
ok, i am off to write my speech. take care!
love,
ingrid
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