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Location: Beijing
Today, most of us woke up very early due to jet lag from the long flight yesterday and despite the time difference, we were excited to start our day! We spent most of the morning getting to know each other over bowls of cereal, Chinese bagged milk, and eggs. Our leaders took us to the best place we could have started our long journey in China – the Great Wall! We discovered that we needed multiple bottles of water after only the first set of stairs. Even though the heat was tiring, nothing could bring us down as we trekked along the path and up and down many sets of stairs that the Great Wall is made up of. The scenery was beautiful, and many of us took candid pictures of each other as we looked out of the small castle-like windows at the vast mountain-scapes and super green cascading trees. We finally made it to the end of our hike- the souvenir shop. After eating delicious and refreshing Popsicles that we determined tasted like banana Laffy Taffys soaked in sugar water, we hiked back to the van and started on the road back to what we will call home for the next three weeks. We had an hour to lazily get dressed to meet the babies at China Little Flower’s new baby home, Dew Drops. Learning how to pick up and hold babies was a great experience, and seeing how they are cared for gave us perspective on the duties of a nurse at home and the challenges the babies face. Learning about the babies’ conditions and their stories made us feel grateful that we are fortunate and have good health and people who care about us and love us. We held the babies’ tiny hands, and for a short time we felt for them in their situations and realized that we were glad that they had support from numerous nurses and volunteers. The car ride home was quiet as we reflected on our experience at Little Flower, and when we got back, we ate a healthy meal of two different kinds of beef ribs and vegetables over rice. We’re writing this blog in anticipation of going to bed, and we are so excited for what tomorrow will bring!