From the Archives // Home Again

Since my last post, we have traveled a lot. Visited friends in the beautiful city of Pu’er and went up to Kunming to pick up James’ mom at the airport. Somewhere along the way, we both got incredibly sick. It’s the first time since we arrived, so I guess it’s about time.

We returned home and realized that our season is changing. Again

This time, I don’t feel 100% prepared. It’s knocked me off my feet a little. It’s crunch time. Time to finish up tasks that will otherwise go unchecked for almost a month as we welcome his band & our small team on a 4 week tour throughout Yunnan. Time to plan for our return to the States, jobs, finances, housing, and the whole nine.

It’s just been truly amazing to sit back and breathe a little here. I have worked along the way and China always brings its own set of challenges – the initial culture shock, the days when inside is so much less scary than outside, the comfort and newness of finding community, breathtaking new scenery and adjusting to the norms that you once viewed as so bizarre, assuming something foreign as a part of yourself. But the pace is slower and the concerns are distinctly new. My focus is outward; I’m not worried about what I look like or whether I’ve kept up with the everyone else’s lives. It’s simply been a time to adopt a new life, culture, and people; even if for a short season.

My house hasn’t been made into a home because it’s not ours; it belongs to someone else and should feel like home to them when they return. That’s a hard desire to fight off as a new wife & just because it is a part of who I have always been. (My mom and I move furniture like it’s going out of style.)

I’m rambling now… My point is that we are on the brink of something new! There is much to look forward to, but leaving is always hard for me to do.

From the Archives // Starbucks & Pizza for the Soul

Over the past week, we travelled to Kunming to visit friends and my Chinese sister, Eve. After a 3 hour ride to Kunming, packed tight with 4 people in a standard car’s back seat, we made it to Green Lake View Hotel. Green Lake is a great area for foreigners to see a beautiful part of the city, find great shopping streets, and eat amazing food. Western restaurants, pubs, and Starbucks abound so we spent two days indulging.

Yep, I’m that girl that thinks Starbucks feels like home. After an afternoon (or three) working in the local Starbucks, I am fueled up and ready to be without western food and espresso for another couple of months.

First stop, Papa Johns for a pizza… Pizza here is non-existant or at least missing any semblance of tomato sauce. Although I’m not really a nut for pizza at home, after a month without, any western food tastes like heaven.

There was no time to take an actual picture of our food…

After wandering the packed streets (this past week was Chinese National Day & half of China seems to travel) we finally met up with our friend and James’ Chinese brother, Dan for some catching up. After an hour of trying to walk through the city to find a place to shop for a sweater for the lady and a place to sit and talk, we finally found it…

The corner of the city that feels like home… Starbucks & H&M


Treating our friends to frappuccinos & catching up in the beautiful fall weather. This week has been a whirlwind of traveling and renewed friendships. More to come from our incredible visit to Mengzi & visiting our future adopted cousin soon…

Now to sleep & let my mind open up again. Writing in complete sentences feels like pulling teeth right now.

 

From the Archives // The View From the Top

Night two of climbing complete! After the first 200 steps, my legs were feeling the newness of the climb from the night before. The steps up to the Wenshan Pagoda in the Yunnan Provincenumber somewhere between 800 & 900. We haven’t had to urge to count just yet; in our minds its 900. (For now, its nice to think the number is higher than what’s probably reality…)

The Wenshan Pagoda at Dark… don’t let the long exposures fool you, it was completely dark during most of the climb.