Over the summer going into seventh grade, I had an opportunity of a lifetime; I traveled around the world and ended up in China. From Macau to Hong Kong to Beijing and every place in between, I was submerged in an extremely unique culture.

My father had been living in Macau for about a year because of his work when we decided to spend three weeks overseas with him during the summer.

Unlike most individuals, my first time out of the country did not involve Italian food or sweet accents but a new interesting atmosphere filled with hanging pigs and bright red lanterns. When I finally reached Hong Kong — after the long 26 hour day of travel — all I wanted to do was sleep. Jumping a day ahead of the calendar felt like time travel and my body wanted to stay in the past. Lucky for me, my father had the perfect idea to keep me alert and ready for the coming adventures.

We climbed into a taxi with no seatbelts and were smacked around the back seat until we reached our destination of the Lady’s Market, a ginormous outdoor center filled with little shops for people to buy anything from Juicy Couture to Soccer Jerseys. As I made my way to the miraculous items hanging on one small shops’ tent, my father pulled me to the side and explained how to bargain for the desired items instead of paying the asking price. Needless to say, I came home with an extra suitcase.
The next day, we got onto a ferry that took us to Macau where we would spend most of our trip.

After days of endless ‘authentic’ Chinese food, my family decided to go to a Pizza Hut that we found in the middle of a similar Vegas Strip atmosphere. When we entered the restaurant in our shorts and T-shirts we were shocked to see crystal chandeliers, marble floors and two stories of individuals dressed to the nines eating pizza.
From the Lady’s Market to Pizza Hut, China offered extraordinary memories. None of which amount to going to Beijing and seeing the Great Wall of China along with the Forbidden City and other incredible destinations.

A ski lift helped bring us to the base of the Great Wall where we then ascended many stairs to actually stand on the Wall itself. The air was chilled and seemed to be thinner when standing on the miraculous monument while the sun wrapped its warm rays of light around my body.

The Great Wall of China is truly a spectacular sight. Built on steep twisting hills, this masterpiece stretches as far as the eye can see in an intricate pattern of zig-zags and quick inclines followed by sharp declines. There are many stairs that lead up to the towers that stand at the top of the wall, one wrong step and you will be tumbling down a hard pathway that seems to never end. Thick brush covers the hills that the Great Wall of China lines and the sky is painted in the most stunning shade of blue which only helps to outline the thick lines of this intimating work of art.