Collect Moments, Not Things

About two weeks ago, I lost my phone... It's been very difficult communicating and reaching out to people, but on the plus side, I spend the majority of my time reading and writing, if not having deep talks with my roommate. For the most part, it has been very enjoyable and I feel as though my days are more fulfilling. So Chris from Germany and to my friends and family who I haven't been able to contact, I'm still alive.

Last weekend, on Friday, my friends and I went out to dinner for Shakercha's birthday. Her birthday is next weekend, but she's not traveling with us to Shanghai. In fact, there will only be four of us going there, two down from our usual six. We are taking a 16 hour overnight train to save money and then a bullet train back. We will have 26 hours in Shanghai, but I know that every second will be worth it. It's crazy to think that I have 10 days here in Beijing. What started out as 2 months has passed by faster than I could have imagined. As soon as we started getting in a routine with work, the weeks started flying by and the weekends grew short. Now, it's really starting to hit me that we will all be departing back to our homes soon, leaving all of the memories and experiences in China, the friendships and connections ending where they started.

On Saturday, we returned to the Pearl Market because many of us wanted to purchase things for our family. We bantered and bartered to our heart's content. It's such an entertaining experience to go through because they all speak incredibly good English. They shower you with compliments, changing their numbers from 200 to 20 in a heartbeat if you turn your back on them. After the Pearl Market, we went to Behai Park where two of our coworkers (Aids) met up with us. The park, a popular tourist attraction, was absolutely beautiful. Lily flowers that have been growing for a long time created the serene scenery. From the distance, you can see the Bell Tower, another very well known monument. I had wanted to go to the art museum near the park, but it was getting late and no one wanted to join me. Traveling with a group has its ups and downs. By this point, we were all very hungry so we made our way to the WangFu Ji food market. Following the signs, we walked down a set of stairs to the Gourmet Street where we were bombarded with different smells, trays of food, and the sound of people yelling Chinese. Imagine a huge cafeteria with a diverse variety of food options available for you to choose from. The bowls and plates of food are all fairly cheap with noodles and dumplings being the main attraction. I was certain that this was not the food market that we were looking for (I had imagined some place outside) because I was told that there would be exotic food to try out. As soon as we stepped out and over to the right a bit were lanterns and sure enough there was the food market. The red lit up lanterns and oriental archway was where everything you could imagine or want on a stick was there. From bugs, snakes, doves, to seahorses, starfish, and scorpions. I tried scorpion for the first time and it honestly didn't taste too awful. The texture, however, was not my favorite. I loved going through the markets, my already full stomach, still eager to try new tastes.

 

As promised, the U.S. Embassy planned a trip for us to the Great Wall on Sunday. There was rumor that we would be taking a trip there as a whole group for a while, but it was never certain until this last week. We met up at 9 in front of the apartment and a bus with Claire, our point of contact for the program, and our tour guide, Andy. I think Andy spoke more English than what he could understand. It was about a 2 hour drive there and once we finally arrived, the grey smoggy sky cleared up and the sun came out. We went to a new part of the Great Wall that was just recently opened to the public called Lakeside viewpoint. It always astounds me that within the Great Wall is a village full of people selling produce and toys on the street as well as restaurants and shops. The feeling that I got from the Great Wall was similar to when I was at the Longquing Gorge. The mountains covered in green trees and shrubs was the only site that I could see. The Great Wall stretched on forever, truly one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I wanted to continue climbing and walking, my determined legs ready to move forward. This entire trip to China has been such an eye opening experience for me...I feel the growth and comfort of being content with myself. Considering everything that I have lost, I feel as though I have gained more. Every day I am thankful for my physical body, enduring the long and tiring days, strong and capable. It was so nice to not have to plan anything out, our transportation was provided for and lunch. Andy took us out to a family owned restaurant where we sat for over an hour straight as food consistently came out. The workers kept on bringing out trays and trays full of food, it was delicious but I was shocked at the amount that we had.

On the ride home, everyone, full of food and exhausted from the climb was fast asleep on the bus. Jocelyn and I, on the other hand, were wide awake, talking the whole ride home. I love moments where I feel like I can really connect with a person, sharing stories about our personal life and reminiscing. These are moments that I want to collect, not things.