Lesson planning this morning then popped to the shops to get some lunch as we were being picked up by Tony's mum at 1:00 to go to the Great Wall. We thought it was just Rick, Tony and their mum's, but when we got there we found they had also invited one of my students, her parents, Tony's grandmother and Rick's uncle and cousin so there was quite a big crowd of us. We drove to Mutianyu and were taken to a cave which we had completely missed on our previous trip. It was full of amazing rock formations and really beautiful. Then we treked up to the wall which was just as stunning as the first time I saw it. There was still some snow around - not enough to make it dangerous, but enough to make it look nice. It was very pleasant although obviously we were a bit limited on conversation. I tried to talk to Tony's cousin, but it was a bit embarrasing when he told me he was one of my students!! I have so many, how can I remember them all!! We walked the wall for an hour or so then got the cable car back down to the cars. From here, we left the student and her parents, but the rest of us went back to Ricks grandparents house where we played cards and then they served us up a feast - vegetable dumplings, tofu, butter beans and salad - it was really good. The house was very simple and a good example of how I would expect most 'normal' Chinese to live. There was very little furniture around. We sat in the living room on the solitary sofa and then they brought in a table for us to sit at to play cards. Then we had to clear the table for dinner, and suddenly all these chairs started to appear so that all 8 of us could sit down! The only other things in the living room were a wall wide picture of a scenic view of China, covered mainly by a large picture of Mao, and a large tv on a sideboard. We stayed until 6 when we were taken home.