Packing

Deciding what to take on any trip is always a bit of a pain. You either over pack or under pack. Not packing enough is something that is easily solved by purchasing more stuff, if you can afford it. Packing too much is really just more of an annoyance because you have to cart it. I have begun to think about this trip as a sort of give-away bag. Remember that bag of clothes that grows each time either your waistline does or you realize you have owned something since high school? I put the item in the bag and figure if it isn’t missed after some months, it goes.

Any clothing article with one foot in the bag, as long as its not too terribly ratty or unsightly, goes on the trip. But unlike the giveaway bag that sits for months, it will not come back with me. Those ten dollar shirts at Target also work well. Buy 5, return with 0. That’s the plan. Perhaps it seems wasteful, but I like to look at it as recycling. Perhaps someone will find my discarded or left behind clothing article and make something of it. Or just wear it. It’s a sort of clothes catharsis - be free of outdated clothing items and shrunken waistlines. !Viola!

Personal Space

Nanjing is a city of about 6.4 million people, according to 2004 census estimates. I lived in Madrid 10 years ago and the population at that time was about 2.8. San Francisco has just under a million. I visited Mexico City, where the population is about 8 million, or 17 million if you count the greater Distrito Federal. Flying in to Mexico City is surreal, as it pretty much just goes on for an eternity. Judging from the picture I found on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjing), Nanjing doesn't seem too far off. I was told due to preparations for the 2008 Olympics and the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, efforts are being made to get people to queue in a more "respectable" manner. I am always reminded as to how orderly we can be as Americans. Personal space is such an issue and we become quite offended by people pushing their way to the front.

My most entertaining experience with this was skiing in Granada. A few friends and I made the excursion to Granada for an extended weekend. Somehow, we ended up deciding to ski. We woke up really early and boarded a bus with half a dozen other Americans and several dozen Europeans from varying countries. The bus serpentined up a barren, rocky mountain for miles. As we neared the top, we were reassured that there was actually snow to ski on. Mind you, I sort of grew up skiing the Sierras. There are lanes that switchback neatly and eventually plop you into several chutes that take turns boarding the lifts. In Spain (and probably other European countries) there are a couple of ropes on either side that form a sort of funnel. The wide mass of unstable bodies with pointed weapons strapped to each hand make their way into a smaller and smaller space, until they find themselves in nice, neat twos and then board the lift. It took some getting used to and was pure hilarity. You quickly learned that your ski pole was your most valuable weapon and it served you well to plant it without remorse in between the skis of the person next to you, so that they were unable to make a move to get ahead.

Somehow, I find it a little more enjoyable to have order, but that is only because I have been trained in that manner. Of course, as the saying goes, “when in Rome...”

I still feel I have a dozen and one things to complete and can hardly believe I leave in two weeks. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy the gorgeous weather and spend plenty of time running and hiking. One of my favorite places to run is in the forest and I realized that I haven’t been out there in months. Summer is so great. It’s the reward that comes for enduring fog and rain and days when it gets dark at 4:30. We are so spoiled.

Summer Vacation

It is day eleven of my summer vacation - the first summer I have had off since grammar school. It is a little difficult to readjust from routine and actually embrace the idea that I have two more weeks of absolutely nothing. Then I leave for China for 26 days. I picked up some Mandarin tapes and tried to use them on my morning run. That was somewhat unsuccessful. I think I remember "I want" and "where is...?" of the forty minutes I listened to. Hardly going to feel confident with two whole phrases. As a second language teacher, I find Mandarin most interesting. There are many words that, to me, sound strangely identical but mean two entirely different things. A slight nuance of accentuation that I just can't distinguish. Considering I spent a lifetime learning Spanish and English, I suppose this is normal. As with anything, it takes time.

I met with a friend/colleague and her sisiter-in-law for coffee today. The sister-in-law is Chinese and was a fantastic resource. I am certainly grateful to her for taking the time to meet with me and share her insights and knowledge. She said that the Chinese are very accomodating to people who doen't speak the language, which is a relief. However, I always detest coming across as the "stupid american" that makes no attempt to learn about the culture or language of the country I am visiting. This will be the first time I am travelling in a country where I can't navigate the language and culture. Regardless, I am immensely excited for this opportunity. The challenge is always making that first decision to leave ones' area of comfort and move into the unknown. Once the decision has been made, you can then prepare yourself for some of the other unknowns. And essentially, I am always received with a profound amount of respect by people when traveling. My experience is more of esteem for taking the time to explore another country and try to learn of its culture, language and people.

So, in 16 days I depart and will arrive in Shanghai. I will spend most of my time in Nanjing, which is northwest of Shanghai. We travel to Xi'an and Beijing for six days and then back to Shanghai to head home.

Before my last adventure, my mom gave me a card with a quote: "My favorite thing is to go where I've never been." (Diane Arbus) This certainly has become one of my favorite things. (Strangely, the card is of a person hiking where I currently reside and this was much before I even considered moving here...)