China - An Amazing Journey

"What Happened?"

"She got her leg caught in a wall trench by the stairs and it looks bad."

"At her shin? Is her leg broken?"

"I don't know but she was crying and the medical team was working on her. They're borrowing Kathy's wheelchair."

"It's so sad that she came all the way here and then won't be running the marathon."

We're all sweating and hanging out by the bus. We've just spent the morning & afternoon walking the 5K leg of The Great Wall Marathon. The pre-event event is to let the runners know what they're in for. Those who were making snide comments about this pre-event before we began walking the leg of the wall are now panting and subdued. No longer snide, but humbled. We're all humbled.

In creating the Great Wall of China the Chinese knew what they were doing. To prevent enemies from being able to maneuver the wall the architects created stairs that were not of even height. Some go to your hip. Some are super shallow. And they change randomly. Then every once in awhile when you expect a stair you get a trench that goes across the wall like a cattle ha-ha only without any sort of grill or slope and it's knee deep. Just the trench. In the dark of night or, in the bright of day when you're not looking where you're going, it can put you in a wheelchair.

"So how was your trip?"

"Fine, I'm really jet lagged."

My answer, though honest, is deflective. When asked, and I don't know why, I'm not ready to answer the question.

In the month passing, it's become clearer and I can reflect upon my feelings about the trip. China is a conundrum. Super modern on some levels there is the underlying time worn belief system. No longer fully Communist, Capitalism thrives. But it thrives without regulation. Like the child who was raised in an overly strict household who finds him/herself in college with total freedom and little experience with self imposed self-discipline.

The sun shines down through the trees and at least 20 toddlers run around with their elderly grandparents looking on. It's a beautiful day and the tour group has dropped us at a local park to take photos and hang out. It's not a usual tour spot. It's to give us a flavor of the local life.

"Did you notice?" said the woman next to me.

"Huh?" I respond.

"Did you notice? The kids."

I turn and look again. Without my glasses I can't see the details but I do notice. Without fail...boy, boy, boy, boy, boy, boy, boy, boy, boy...and it goes on. One girl. She's about 7 years old.

"Where are all the girls?" I ask.

"In the orphanage South of the city," responds a man who has been here a few times before.

I look around again and remember someone mentioning that the one child rule still applied in China.

"What happens when all these boys grow up?" I ask.

The other tourists shake their heads and we move on.

China is a set of contradictions. Both beautiful and super shiny clean, Beijing also has air pollution from nearby coal power plants. The Westernized parts show modern architecture to rival any city. Go a few blocks into the hidden neighborhoods that are off in alleyways away from the major streets and you find people living in poor conditions. Shanty housing. And you realize there is another side to this city. One that remains uncovered to the average tourist.

My sister and I, after spending time in rural Taiwan and various 2nd and 3rd world countries, knew that these parts existed. We recognized them as we went past.

My conflict runs deep. My ancestors, if you go back far enough, come from China. The culture is recognizable in patches from my childhood living with my immigrant parents. A part of me loves it. Identifies with it. A part of me doesn't recognize it at all and mourns for the people. Rooting for the people as they transition through these changes.

It was only within the last few years that China made a law to protect personal property. Until then, all property belonged to the government. For the first time people could buy homes and cars and it would belong to them. It's a big change. A shift in thought. A shift in life change that causes people to now look for ways to survive in a Capitalist society with no practice or training in how to do it. The people who know how -- become richer. Those who don't struggle.

My sister said it best. After spending some time in Pennsylvania Amish Country she said that the Amish choose their lot. They choose to live a certain way and they still have the benefit of a 1st world country. Medical help. Air conditioning. (Yes, she saw air conditioning used in an Amish home.)

But the people in China who live that life don't have a choice. They live the life of struggle because they have no other choice and they are just trying to survive. They don't have the luxury of being able to afford to purchase air conditioning. Sometimes they don't have the luxury of modern medicine nearby. It's a hard life.

"Marathoner coming through!" The lead Marathoner, a man running from China, comes flying through. We part like the Red Sea, cheering him on as we maneuver our own route, until he slips down the dirt and graveled path and grabs his leg. He's cramping and makes his way to the Wall to work out his leg. We all go silent until he works it out and says he's okay and continues on.

Not unlike China itself, the Great Wall was steep and at some points treacherous and at other points beautiful. At some parts a person has to focus and watch their footing. At others it's safe to marvel at the scenery without concern and take a breath.

At the awards dinner the woman next to me says that she's never seen healthy men, who have run marathons before, just go up 2 stairs and turn around and sit down out of need to rest. And other grown men cry. She saw one woman going up the stairs backwards on her butt slowly while others crawled. Literally.

It's late afternoon and I can hear the crowd in the Yin Yang Square cheering. The finish line looms. I see the leader from my tour group and one other member yelling my name. I'm sweating, my legs are trembling and I'm thrilled. Would I do this again? I'll have to think about it. But it's been an amazing journey.