Archive for August 27th, 2009

27 08 2009

Double Great Wall structure

Posted by Robert in Along the Great Wall, Walking the Great Wall

After getting the weather report from my girlfriend yesterday (thanks Trude), I decided to make an early start today. Set my alarm for six o’clock. At three a.m. I went out for a wee. Crystal clear sky and the stars and planets looked like they were only half as far away as usual. I could see the Milky Way very clearly.

I went back to sleep and slept straight through two alarms! At a little over seven I woke up, seeing the sun on the tent. It wasn’t very hot though - which it would have been a month ago.

Started walking and found a small path along the Great Wall. It varied in size and shape, but made the walking easier. The Great Wall is double here. The outer wall was smaller than the inner, functioning as an effective barrier against the horsemen of the enemy. The inner and main defensive wall was at least double in height.

Towards the end of the day I met a great elderly couple who invited me into their home. They were farmers and told me that their child and family work in Yinchuan. They asked about snakes and I showed them pictures I have brought about life in Norway.

Right now there is a grasshopper concert outside. Time to upload this and then eat some more. It is eight thirty, and completely dark. The only light comes from this great but small htc s740 mobile phone :-)

31 kilometres today, and 10 yesterday.

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27 08 2009

Status week 19

Posted by Robert in Status every two weeks
The last two weeks have been long in effort, but short in perceived time. Does that make sense? I can remember a lot of hard walking because of the heat. But at the same time these reports feel like they are being written more often than every second week.

I am very happy to notice that although my Chinese knowledge is very basic, I seem to have crossed a magical border. When I talked with people earlier, they would understand that my knowledge was basic and ‘give up on me’ as a conversational partner. But now - with a little encouragement from me, they don’t give up that easy. They want me to understand and use different words to explain.. This is great, because then we can get past all the ‘How old are you’ stuff, and start talking about other issues. It also means I can pick up more Chinese! Today for instance - I learnt the Chinese word for snake.

 . You must be tired of hearing all my talk about the weather. Although it was 31 degrees warm today, and not a cloud in the sky till five in the afternoon, it is bearable now because it is cool in the evenings and nights. Also, the wind has a greater cooling effect than a month ago.

The next time I write this two week status, there will only be a week to go until I see my girlfriend again. I’m so happy! It is almost surreal. Half a year is a very long time.

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