Summer Adventures

When I set off on my summer adventures around China almost three weeks ago, I said that one of my goals for my travels was to take time to write.  Unfortunately I didn’t write down exactly what I wanted to write or why I wanted to write it, but write was the goal and so now, on my last full day in my favorite location so far, I’m writing.

Maybe I should write about why I’m on this trip? Why I decided to attempt only train travel (oops…two flights and five train rides isn’t so bad, right?  I mean 3 of the train rides are longer than 9 hours, so that counts for something!) wouldn’t be a terrible topic?  Why I chose my destinations, maybe?  

When we had to make decision about summer, there still wasn’t access to the vaccine for our staff and I was honestly dreading heading to the States.  I love my friends and family on that side of the world…truly I’m absolutely crazy about them.  Unfortunately, though, one of the realities of being an expat (someone who lives outside of their home country/culture by choice) is that trips home become overloaded crazy times.  There have been summers where I’m home for three weeks and have 3 or 4 scheduled times with different people each day.  I used to be a bit in awe of my ability to see everyone and do everything, but a few years ago it became clear that I was returning to China more exhausted then when I left (an impressive feat).  Bekah Teusink had to take back summers from herself.  So when I didn’t have the vaccine and I knew that I would come back more tired than when I left if I wasn’t careful, staying in China became the best option for me.

Side note - just because it was the best option for me doesn’t mean it was the only option or the best option for other people. If this season of Covid-19 has taught me anything, it is that we are all oh so different and have to make decisions based on our unique circumstances, needs, and priorities. 

So I decided to stay in China, but then the question became what was I going to do with this rare gift of a summer in China where travel was possible.  I started reflecting on the journeys I’ve made before in this vast country and the journeys I had talked about making.  My first summer here, I went to Yangshuo with a few friends and had a marvelous time (except for the 25 hour train ride each direction…that was not my favorite).  I remembered staring at the mountains and being absolutely mesmerized.  Maybe I could do that again?  

And there were those mountains, the rainbow mountains, that Sarah and I had always talked about going to but were always discouraged by others about because they were too far, not real, and not worth it.  Maybe it was time to make that journey.

Oh wait, what about that trip with friends that I was supposed to take in February to Lijiang and Tiger Leaping Gorge?   Maybe this was the time to journey in that direction with them and enjoy some time with one fo my favorite families.  Oooo and there’s a friend from high school that lives near there too!  Shangri-la would be a great spot to stop too!

And of course there was Shanghai, the historic city that I had only ever visited because of Disneyland.  Lame, Teusink.  You’ve got to go there!

And there it was.  My itinerary.  I started looking at hotels.  A retreat right on the river in Yangshuo?  Done.  A yurt just outside the geological park at the rainbow mountains?  Perfect.

I set off on an 18-hour train ride the day after school got out with everything I thought I needed for almost 4 weeks away packed into a carry-on suitcase, a duffle bag for snacks (cuz train rides!), and a backpack with a few books to read and leave along the way and the necessary electronics.  The backpack also had my craft project needs for four weeks - some crocheting supplies, a ridiculously overambitious cross-stitch project, and a few small projects friends had gifted me to work on.

My first stop was Zhangye, Gansu.  I got to my little yurt hotel (which I LOVED!) and immediately showered, because 18 hours on a train, and then walked over the to Geopark.  I got my ticket and headed into the park.  They have a little shuttle bus that takes you around the park and I got on it as quickly as possible and headed to the first stop.  After a bit of walking to get to the first viewpoint, my breath caught in my throat and I started crying.  Because wow.

After some reflection and a few conversations with friends, I‘ve been told that most people wouldn’t necessarily cry at that view.  So why did I?  Well, because getting to these mountains was closure on so many China hopes and dreams.  For 9 years I’ve thought about going here.  9 years of being told it was too difficult, not real, and not worth it.  But I got there.  I ventured to this place that Sarah and I had dreamed about and finally got to see if it was indeed real (which in case you haven’t figured it out already - it was!). Making the journey probably would have made me cry anyways, but going at it on my own brought the tears to a new level.  

In this life of mine in China, I’ve said hello and goodbye to a lot of people.  This is the way expat life goes.  People come, people go. Things change. You change.  It is what it is.  But standing looking at these wonders of creation, I was both in celebration mode and in mourning mode.  Sarah should have been there with me.  Other friends should have been able to see it.  I shouldn’t have been there alone…and I wasn’t alone.  All of those layers brought me to tears.  Delight and sorry and joy and accomplishment and loss.  All the feels.  And I’m still oh so glad that I finally made it there! Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity and gift.

The next stop of the journey was Lijiang, with its historic old town and amazing mountain views. 

We wandered and ate and hiked and pondered all of the things.  What a gift it was to spend a week with friends that I’ve known throughout my China life and who know me oh so well.  Whose kids I’ve been able to love on and cry with and watch grow up.  They push me to grow and keep me laughing along the way.  While I’d rather not climb all the stairs, the views sure were worth it.  There weren’t tears on this leg of the journey…just delight.

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The next leg of the journey was visiting a life-long friend and her family in Shangri-La for a few nights, getting to reconnect with her and get to know her family while seeing a new corner of the country and experiencing snippets of plateau culture (especially food!). It was a gift to see the company that they have built (click here if you want to check it out) and to share so many stories from days gone by.  It was chilly and cloudy while I was there, but still oh so beautiful.

After a week and a bit of people-ing (which really was lovely), it was time for a week in a familiar setting with just myself and my thoughts for a bit.  Going back to Yangshuo for seven days was a dream come true.  Taking the time to just stare at the mountains, to just listen to the river, to just be.  My room had an amazing view and I was able to just sit on my balcony and be.  My goal for each day was to get out of the hotel for at least a walk if not for more of an adventure.  I took a cooking class, learned a bit about Chinese watercolor painting, rented a scooter and explored for an afternoon, and did oh so much cross-stitching! 

While it was beautiful to come back to a familiar corner of the country, it was also a bit heartbreaking at times.  On the day I rented a scooter, I went back to Xingping, the quiet little town that we stayed in for a week all those years ago.  Xingping then was a tourist trap by day but had no hotels other than the youth hostel that we stayed at and had so many quiet corners.  The road that we traveled in to Yangshuo on back then was a little one-lane track and there was so much open countryside that we had to traverse to get anywhere else.  Now, that is not the case. Two lane roads and little roadside stops line the hour drive.  And Xingping itself? Not at all the quaint little town that lived in my memory. I stopped at the place where we had stayed all those years ago to get a milkshake and gain my bearings, because goodness gracious I was shook from the vast gap between by expectoration and reality.  There may have been a few tears shed (there were) as I realized that and came to terms with it. 

The lesson I was reminded of in a big way — things change…and that’s okay.  They’re supposed to.  And guess what? We change to. But not everything does.  We have to hold on to those anchors.

And now I’ve got one leg of the journey left.  I’ll head to Shanghai tomorrow and spend four days there with a friend before heading back to Chengdu.  The mountain portion of my journey is almost over, so now I’m going to stop writing and just enjoy the view for as long as I possible can.