China

It is hard to believe now, but before 2000 I had never taken a plane ride. We took vacations growing up, traveling up and down the east coast; however my father's general apprehension towards aviation kept us auto-bound. My first venture was a *small* little trip from western PA to Zibo, China. Nothing like jumping in with both feet! That marked a turning point in my life. As soon as I got that passport in my hand and tasted the adventure of exploring a new country I was hooked.

Before leaving college I would make a return visit, this time getting the opportunity to teach workshops alongside my professor. I learned to be a flexible traveler and to welcome new experiences. It was my first taste of snake and chicken feet and of course, the fabled 1,000 day old eggs. Though neither trip widened my grasp of Mandarin, I did learn to toast cheers and say thank you. My upbringing was decidedly sheltered, but that trip opened my eyes to the way others outside my sphere of being lived. I remember being fascinated by the views the college students I talked with had about life in America. One student made it very clear to me that Americans were all "fat, rich, and blonde" and wondered why I wasn't :)

My favorite parts of the trip were not the sights we saw, though all were amazing and rich in history. However, it was the personal connections with the culture that I cherished. I loved playing with our driver's young daughter and communicating through silly faces though neither of us spoke the other's language. I remember surprising a group of school children by joining in their snowball fight (and later regretting it when they took the opportunity to pounce on the strange American!). I remember following in somewhat shock as a random woman grabbed me in a store and pulled me over to a prize area so I could try my hand at winning a pearl (which I did!) I had no idea what she wanted, and hoped that I was not being led out of the store! Then there was the traditional Chinese dance recital that was presented in our honor where upon completion I was pulled to the stage and instructed to teach a "traditional American dance". Like a deer in headlights, the only dance I could recall was the dreaded chicken dance--so I delivered. They loved it, and to this day I wonder if there is a group of Chinese who believe that the chicken dance is actually a traditional American dance!

Looking back, I think that trip set the stage for many choices I would later make in my life. The biggest, of course, being when a certain tall blonde convinced me to leave my stable job and family in NY in favor of the unknowns of Hawaii. There are parts of this life that I do not enjoy. I miss my family terribly. I wish more then anything that I could be home to see my niece and nephews as they grow and welcome the newest member of our family in June. However, the adventure--the exploration--of this life I will never regret. It is a mixed blessing and as I said when I started this blog, it is one I hope that I will always take advantage of.

I do not have many pictures from my China trip on this computer and the ones I do are grainy from being scanned so this is a very poor representation of what the trip truly was. I think that is why I take so many pictures on our trips now. Someday I will look back with nostalgance and I hope that the physical reminders at least somewhat mirror the pictures in my mind.

Confucius's home. I loved visiting here. I can not describe the feel except to say: peaceful.

Forbidden City (with Dr. F in the corner)

Great Wall. The Great Wall is amazing--as well as amazingly cold! On my first trip to China my luggage was lost until the day before we left so I had very few clothes to choose from, much less warm clothes to select. I bundled myself up in hand-me-downs from Dr. F and made do. Notice the lovely scarf wrapped around my head. I sported that look a lot on that trip.

Tiananmen square (make note of the lovely scarf again!)