There’s a theory of time that says that all events ever, past and future occur at once, and time is just our brains’ way of coping. If it’s true, I can feel it now more than ever. It gives real meaning to the term “mixed feelings”. An instant ago, it seems, I was on my way to China, nervous, eager, then alone, with friends, traveling, content, then getting ready to leave, in limbo. And that’s where I am: in between the past and the future, feeling every emotion I’ve had over the past 14 months, and anticipating every emotion I’ll have upon my return.
I’m not quite sure why I came to Beijing so early. My flight’s not till Friday, and I don’t have much to do here before then, but I guess it seemed to make sense to put a significant buffer of time between the train ride and my flight home in case anything went wrong. I’ve become so used to traveling that it’s become second nature, and almost feels too easy. The 38 hours on the train flew by, and I managed my bags with only slight difficulty. I had to stop myself to make sure I had everything, just because it seemed like I had too little. Some friends offered to let me stay with them, but I got in just after 11am and they all work, so I checked into a hostel instead.
It’s been an incredible year. I’ve traveled a great amount , had sufficient time to relax, learned a lot about the Yi people, seen many animal sacrifices, improved my Chinese immensely, lost 60 pounds, and made some great friends. I’m looking forward to getting back to the States, also. I can’t wait to see all my family and friends, eat great food, have warm dry clothes, and start my new life. I have several job interviews lined up, which I have to prep for more this week, and hopefully I’ll figure the next step out without too much of a gap in between.
Anyway, I know it’s been a long time since I’ve written, and I have a couple un-posted entries partly written from this past summer that I’ll try to upload soon.
Saturday night in Kunming. Great weather, beautiful sunset, four packed and stuffed bags, and I’m off to the train station. A hard-sleeper to Beijing. 38 hours, 2 instant noodle bowls, and many unwanted conversations later, I stumble off the train, lugging almost 200 pounds of my life over the past 14 months into the heat and humidity of Beijing.
There’s a theory of time that says that all events ever, past and future occur at once, and time is just our brains’ way of coping. If it’s true, I can feel it now more than ever. It gives real meaning to the term “mixed feelings”. An instant ago, it seems, I was on my way to China, nervous, eager, then alone, with friends, traveling, content, then getting ready to leave, in limbo. And that’s where I am: in between the past and the future, feeling every emotion I’ve had over the past 14 months, and anticipating every emotion I’ll have upon my return.
I’m not quite sure why I came to Beijing so early. My flight’s not till Friday, and I don’t have much to do here before then, but I guess it seemed to make sense to put a significant buffer of time between the train ride and my flight home in case anything went wrong. I’ve become so used to traveling that it’s become second nature, and almost feels too easy. The 38 hours on the train flew by, and I managed my bags with only slight difficulty. I had to stop myself to make sure I had everything, just because it seemed like I had too little. Some friends offered to let me stay with them, but I got in just after 11am and they all work, so I checked into a hostel instead.
It’s been an incredible year. I’ve traveled a great amount , had sufficient time to relax, learned a lot about the Yi people, seen many animal sacrifices, improved my Chinese immensely, lost 60 pounds, and made some great friends. I’m looking forward to getting back to the States, also. I can’t wait to see all my family and friends, eat great food, have warm dry clothes, and start my new life. I have several job interviews lined up, which I have to prep for more this week, and hopefully I’ll figure the next step out without too much of a gap in between.
Anyway, I know it’s been a long time since I’ve written, and I have a couple un-posted entries partly written from this past summer that I’ll try to upload soon.
