Hiking on the Great Wall...Seriously, How Cool is That?!?!

I'm sitting at my computer, typing away and listening to Christmas music while my mom takes a little pre-dinner snooze on the other end of the couch. Yes, my mom is here! She arrived on Wednesday evening and I've been doing my best to keep her awake during the day so that she can conquer her jet lag...she's actually done pretty well so far, which is why I'm allowing the nap right now. :)
We've had a busy couple of days! Thursday morning mom went to class with me and even participated in the writing assignment. :) At the end of my last class I asked my students if they would sing a song for us...a song that they did as part of a singing competition not too long ago. I tried to include the video on this blog but apparently it's not going to work tonight! I'll try again another time...
Yesterday we spent the afternoon hiking the Great Wall! It was absolutely beautiful...I could not get enough of the fresh air and the peace that surrounded us - I could have stayed up there for days. The best part was that we went to a section of the wall that is not a tourist hot-spot and we only saw 3 other people there the whole afternoon! The landscape was simply breathtaking...add to that a bright blue sky, overwhelming serenity, one of my students as an unbelievable guide, and standing on a wall with thousands of years of history that was constructed by the bare hands of thousands of workers...it makes for an amazing day. Below are some of our "postcard worthy" shots!

Today we went to the Christmas Bazaar at Tianjin International School and then to the fabric market - some great shopping was done!
I am hoping that at the end of the week my mom will be a "guest blogger" so that you can hear firsthand about her impressions of China...I already know that she wants to wrap some of my students up, put them in her pocket and bring them home with her! :) They are SO GREAT!