The Great Wall

Today was "Great Wall" day, which was a source of excitement for Angelina. In short, she couldn't wait to visit a landmark that was so significant in the plot of "Mulan". We told her to expect a lot of climbing and a lot of stairs, and that we would climb all the way up to the clouds. She was ready.

Based on our experience at the Great Wall the last time around (Dad learned that carrying a 9 month old in a baby carrier, plus a video camera, plus a still camera to climb the wall in icy December was not too smart (some would call it dangerous... Dad would call it "fearless")) the plan was that Mum would stay down at the base with Miah in the stroller, and Dad and Angelina would scale the heights.

Of course, climbing the wall in July is considerably different than climbing in December. Gone are the slippery steps and bitterly cold winds. In their place, strength-draining head and humidity. Dad's not too smart move this time around was to leave the water bottle with Mum at the bottom, commenting "we can drink when we're done." True enough, but drinking throughout might have been pleasant too.

Anyway, off they went "into the clouds". The result? They did well. Its hard to measure accurately since it appears there's always another section ahead of you, but they climbed a good 20 minutes higher than the little picture-taking store off to the side which many people regard as the finish line. They spent a few minutes breathing at the very top before coming back down, perhaps looking a little worse for wear but still comfortably within the 2 hours allotted there, with still enough energy to evade the "Beijing style" sellers at the base.

Another good day. Tomorrow we get a little more serious, taking Miah to the SOS clinic and applying for her Canadian Permanent Residence status.

Speaking of Miah, she continues to make good progress. She has started to get a little more verbal now... playing the game of "up" and "down" on the bus, and repeating things like "wow" and "oh my". Also progress on the Mom front too - I'd say we have upgraded from total contempt to primarily contempt. I know... doesn't sound very cozy yet, but we'll take the progress as it comes.

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