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Monday, June 9, 2014

Oh the Places You'll Go....

It's been just about forever since I last posted. Daily life has a way of sucking the free time right out of you, doesn't it? Not to mention things like work-as much as I enjoy blogging, sometimes I have to put it aside in order to complete the writing jobs that are "jobs", as in they help pay the bills!

I also was gone adventuring for a bit. My son and I traveled to China last month, and I can't stop thinking about it. We went through a tour company, Gate1 Travel, because I figured navigating a place like China might be more difficult than other vacation spots, and because the price was so darn affordable, I couldn't NOT book through them.

Honestly, I don't know how this tour company makes any money. Almost everything was included, from round-trip airfare (and airfare between cities), bus travel, meals and hotels. The cost was about the same as what I would have paid for ONLY the round-trip ticket between Los Angeles and Beijing. An eight day tour, (10 total with travel time), we got to see all the top sites, stay at nice hotels, and enjoy great food. We had a tour guide who was with us the whole time, and she was informative, organized and gave us a lot of insight into life in China.

China is an interesting place. It's changed a lot in the last 30 years, becoming more modern and updated. A contradiction in terms, it is horribly polluted (especially Beijing) and breathtakingly beautiful. The people have no sense of personal space and push and shove everywhere they go, but are friendly and engaging. The traffic is one of the most frightening things I've ever seen, yet somehow people manage to drive in it daily without dying (this one I do not get!) There is complete freedom of religion, with temples,mosques and churches in abundance, while the government owns all the land and if you buy a home, it's only yours for 70 years-period.

My son, now 15 years old, got to experience things many people never see. We climbed the Great Wall. We viewed the Terra Cotta Soldiers. We saw Shanghai at night (and almost got trampled in a crowd rushing to get on the tour boat in Shanghai), we met new people and tried new foods (jellyfish?!), fought through polluted air and melted in the 100 degree heat. We stood in the Forbidden City, walked Tiananmen Square, rode the Metro, bargained with shopkeepers and lit incense in a temple.

I've posted before about the importance I place on travel and how I've always made it a priority in my life. When I was a teen, I would save my babysitting money all year just to buy a plane ticket to go visit friends and family in the summer. As an adult, I worked for an airline in order to get flight benefits, and I make sure that any job I have can accommodate my need to travel 3-4 times a year. I think travel can expand one's horizons in ways nothing else can, it gives us new perspective and helps bridge the gap between understanding different cultures and people. We learn acceptance and tolerance by seeing both the differences and similarities in all of us.

My son summed it up perfectly while we were there. At one point he said. "It's so different here." I agreed with him. Then he said "But things are also kind of the same. People are the same." Again, I agreed. Wherever you travel, you will find people living their lives, loving their families, working, trying, existing, doing all the same things we do at home.

At the end of the trip, he said something that made me feel like all the trips I've taken him on have paid off in very important ways. He said "You know, this has given me a new appreciation for where we live. Our country has its share of problems, but I'm very grateful to live in a place where I have the freedom to do and be who I want."

Maybe that's something we should all take a moment to think about, and be grateful.