12.8.2012
After a hot shower tonight, I almost cried out of happiness.
Let me give you a synopsis of the events leading up to this point.
We left for our destinations 4 days ago and still have yet to arrive.
Because of travel and the accessibility of internet, we had very little sleep the prior 6 nights. How our bodies were still working, I have no idea. Little did I know that we hadn’t even hit the difficult part.
Upon leaving, we carried our packs for what seemed like hours. To be honest, I’m not even sure how many, but I feel like I am ridiculously buff from it. Look for pictures to check.
After staying the night in the train station, we rode I don’t know how many trains for how many days to arrive to this place. Yes, I said days not hours. By the time we got here, we hadn’t showered for anywhere from 4-6 days, so we emitted a smell I am unable to describe. On the bright side, we were thankful we had not sweat much to add to the smell. We had to master squatty pottys on a moving train, which I might add had proof that many people had missed. I am hoping none of these people have taken up darts or archery as a hobby. Our “sleep” on the train consisted of many back pains mixed with random wake-up calls from train workers. For some reason, they would grab our shoulders to shake us awake and yell at us in Chinese, what about I still have not deciphered. Let me just say that you haven’t been truly terrified until you’re awoken to a loud angry Chinese man.
We quickly learned what Americans provide for those in China—ENTERTAINMENT. We were treated like celebrities between the paparazzi and the crazy amounts of attention. Perhaps one day we will be famous in China, so maybe get your autographs now.
So why I almost cried…
Maybe I’m partially exhausted from 9 nights of very little sleep to a point of delirium.
Maybe my body wants to collapse any moment from exhaustion.
But above all, God blesses us so much here and at home. You can’t truly appreciate what you do have until you do without: heat, showers, beds, homes, food, money, phones, English speakers, and silverware. (Just saying that chopsticks are a little difficult to master but nothing compared to the language.) And yet China, I’m lovin’ it.
P.S. Here’s my little plug for foreigners at home. Be nice and please help out those who do not speak our language at home. You have no idea how hard it is to communicate without knowing the language. “Thank you” and small phrases can only get you so far. If all else fails, Charades is always a great game.
