Back from semester sabbatical in Taiwan and China (Feb-April 2008)

H and I hiked the great wall for 4 miles from Jinshaling to Simitai, after a three-hour bus ride from the center of Beijing. Because we had planned an overnight stay, I carried upwards of 20 pounds, including laptop. Sometimes I scrambled on hands-and-knees. I didn't just *see* the Great Wall. I hit it, thumped it, rolled it, danced it, cracked it.... And it me.