Happy Christmas 2007
I haven't written in a while. Haven't written as much as I would like to. It's been a tough few months work-wise in terms of the number of hours worked, as well as mentally/emotionally. I had a mini meltdown at work, and cried again the week after, which is record-breakingly frequent. I almost yelled at one of my juniors (I avoided it by hanging up on him instead) and told another that I'm emotionally frail at the moment, so it's very important that he get everything beautifully right.
I'm now in Da4 Li3, a little historic/tourist town in Northwestern Yunnan, China. It's strange to be celebrating Christmas with in a small town in China, with a bunch of crazy happy Chinese flooding the streets and enthusiastically spraying each other (and this random tourist) with fake snow (foam).
I'm on my 5th day in China on a Christmas trip to Yunnan with the 'rents. This trip has been interesting in terms of the ethnic minority cultures I've learnt about, and the locals I've interacted with, and it's been great to be on the move again, travelling: Lonely Planet in hand, planning the trip at each step: having a rough idea of the plan, modifying the plan as necessary (and it has been necessary!), winging it at times. I've missed the adrenaline rush of travelling. And yet it has been frustrating, travelling with the 'rents, who necessarily need more time and have need that have to be catered for given their age and physical limitations. I'm definitely thinking that travelling with the 'rents are a bad idea. Especially to less developed areas/for adventure travel. (How I would love to go hiking in Lijiang... to the Tiger-Leaping Gorge!)
I'm already daydreaming and plotting my next escape. The big questions are logistics: when, with whom?
Despite the frustrations, I'm glad I came on this trip. To practice the whole travelling thing. To plan and execute a trip to a place I've never been to before.. with challenges (the parents) and safety net (companionship of the parents). I feel more reassured that perhaps I can make a longer trip on my own to somewhere less developed in future.
I suppose this is a good way to wind down 2007, which has been a very strange, stressful, surreal year, perhaps the strangest, most stressful, and most surreal one, in a series of interesting years.
I'll have to do the traditional recap another day. But 2007 hasn't turned out too badly in the number of firsts, interesting experiences, and ticking off my perennial checklist of 'things-to-do-before-i-die".
Happy Christmas, world!
I'm now in Da4 Li3, a little historic/tourist town in Northwestern Yunnan, China. It's strange to be celebrating Christmas with in a small town in China, with a bunch of crazy happy Chinese flooding the streets and enthusiastically spraying each other (and this random tourist) with fake snow (foam).
I'm on my 5th day in China on a Christmas trip to Yunnan with the 'rents. This trip has been interesting in terms of the ethnic minority cultures I've learnt about, and the locals I've interacted with, and it's been great to be on the move again, travelling: Lonely Planet in hand, planning the trip at each step: having a rough idea of the plan, modifying the plan as necessary (and it has been necessary!), winging it at times. I've missed the adrenaline rush of travelling. And yet it has been frustrating, travelling with the 'rents, who necessarily need more time and have need that have to be catered for given their age and physical limitations. I'm definitely thinking that travelling with the 'rents are a bad idea. Especially to less developed areas/for adventure travel. (How I would love to go hiking in Lijiang... to the Tiger-Leaping Gorge!)
I'm already daydreaming and plotting my next escape. The big questions are logistics: when, with whom?
Despite the frustrations, I'm glad I came on this trip. To practice the whole travelling thing. To plan and execute a trip to a place I've never been to before.. with challenges (the parents) and safety net (companionship of the parents). I feel more reassured that perhaps I can make a longer trip on my own to somewhere less developed in future.
I suppose this is a good way to wind down 2007, which has been a very strange, stressful, surreal year, perhaps the strangest, most stressful, and most surreal one, in a series of interesting years.
I'll have to do the traditional recap another day. But 2007 hasn't turned out too badly in the number of firsts, interesting experiences, and ticking off my perennial checklist of 'things-to-do-before-i-die".
Happy Christmas, world!
