"And if not now, when?": June 2016

Wow...it is so hard to believe that this 4 month chapter of my life is almost finished. What an adventure! When I set out to experience teaching in China, I didn't have a timeline. I signed up for 4 months, but was very open to see what would unfold from there.

It will be hard to sum up this experience, so I will make a little list here of some of the highlights:

- early morning on the Great Wall of China! (felt like we had the whole wall to ourselves)
- playing charades on a daily basis
- Shanghai (so many experiences within Shanghai that are so different...and too many to count!)
- feeling like a celebrity wherever I go (strangers asking for pictures, the pointing, the staring, the hellos)
- hiking Qingliang Peak in March
- hiking LiRen Canyon
- hiking into a small village in Zhejiang Province
- craft beer festivals and breweries
- spending $5 per week or less on local produce
- the endless food question marks (toenails on chicken feet in chicken feet soup)
- the amount of people that can exist in one space
- fake markets ("Hey lady!" "you tell me your price!" "okay okay fine" "it's for yoga, more money")
- traveling to the Philippines (and all of the adventures that happened pre, during and post)
- BBQ Thursdays!
- Yongkong Lu (a popular expat drinking street in Shanghai)
- FRIENDS replica cafe (Shanghai)
- birthday celebrations (so many!)
- High speed train
- Rayfont Hotel- our home away from Luxu
- Bringing your own alcohol into any establishment in China...including nice British pubs
- Cutting in line and not getting yelled at....look out Canada!
- the incredibly welcoming and unique staff at Sino-Canada (seriously, they are second to none!)
- Staff Friday afternoon sporting events (SO competitive!)
- Staff/Student intramurals (all we did was win!)
- the Avocado lady
- $100 brunch at the Westin

Another addition to the list, happened this weekend; Luxu Laps presented by Seabass Running Club. Our principal and his wife started this running club, and have "chapters" all over the world (all of the places they've lived and taught). They are leaving China at the end of this school year, so this was the 6th and final Luxu Laps that they will be a part of. About 30 (give or take) teachers and staff (past and present) came out to run on Saturday morning! Despite the heat, everyone had a great time. I ran the 5km (12 laps around the track). We celebrated by enjoying Japanese food later on in the day.

The incredible door prize table - this is why we run!

The BEFORE shot....as in before we all got schweaty for days!

The 5km runners recovering and cheering on the brave souls who ran 10km

The AFTER shot...hard to tell, but we all hot and bothered! It was a miracle that no one passed out from heat stroke!

They say time flies when you're having fun - isn't this the truth! I wouldn't sum up my time over here with the word fun...I think...maybe....unique might be more fitting. "Time flies while you're having a unique experience" may be more appropriate.

Since arriving back from spring break in Boracay, I've been busy with school and checking off things on my "To Do Before I Leave China" list. That's right, I'm moving back to the mountains! I have enjoyed this unique experience, but have come to realize, through the distance between us, that the mountains are truly where my soul needs to be. I've been lucky enough to experience being a "weekend warrior" here in China through an expat hiking group called, Hiking Lovers. However, being a "weekend warrior" is simply not enough. I need to feel and see those mountains every day. With that, I am truly making the most of my time left here.

This past weekend, myself and two other teachers, Nadine and Claire, went off with Hiking Lovers to Zhejiang Province (about 5.5 hours south of Shanghai by bus) that is referred to as the "Shangri-la of East China". We had a group of 20ish other expats and a few leaders. We arrived at the guesthouse (think motel meets hostel meets bed & breakfast) around 1:00am and went to sleep almost immediately. We woke up early, and had breakfast waiting for us (a traditional meal from that area).

Breakfast was so good, even the dogs wanted some!

After breakfast, we spent the first day hiking up a canyon through CLEAR, yes, clean and clear water...(in China!?!). It was a neat river hike. Some people swam for most of it, and others (me) hiked along the side when we could, but mostly walking through the beautiful water.

The downside of going with a group...is just that, it's a group. When I hike or spend time in nature, it sort of feels strange to me to be spending it with loads of other people. There was a fairly sketchy part of the hike that I just didn't feel good about doing (too risky pour moi) and it was a perfect opportunity to break away from the group and actually enjoy the beauty of the canyon we were hiking up - it was one of the highlights of my weekend.

Couldn't get enough of this clear water

Reflecting on all of it

The sketchy part that I didn't want to do, was walking up a "ladder" (two old, wet, rickety logs nailed together-ish with many rotten nails sticking out of it) that was 14ish feet up to a ledge that was maybe a foot wide....with slippery, slopey rock awaiting you.

The infamous 'ladder' - by the time I started going up, all of those "steps" you see, were gone.

Long story short, one of the leaders came back to get me after about an hour and a half and got me up the ladder. We walked to another spot in the canyon, where people had spent 1.5 hours trying to cross some rapids and waiting for the local guide and leaders, who had all taken off on their own adventure. Things got real sketchy while I was away enjoying my solo time!

When we were on our way back to the guesthouse, we had to head back down that dreadful ladder. The first three people started down the ladder. The fourth stepped on, and was about half way down before the ladder snapped in half and wasn't usable anymore....with 95% of the group (including me) now STUCK on the wet, slippery ledge, with no way down....INTUITION MUCH. I didn't want to say I was right....but I did...many times.

who can spot my REALLY happy face....

The group patiently waiting while everyone safely gets down

Anyway, between the local guide, some rope and some praying, we all got down the ledge.

The next day, I woke up early and watched the sun rise over the river. It was magical. You don't get many moments like that in nature here in China...so I was very appreciative of having that time in the morning.

Catching some early morning rays

When I came back from my walk, breakfast was being prepared

After breakfast, we did a hot and schweaty (think Ontario in August schweaty) hike up to a magical land.....actually. Between the vegetation, breathe-taking views, and locals...it was a memorable hike. We hiked up and up and up.....sort of reminded me of Ha Ling (in Canmore), in terms of how quickly you gain elevation.

Along the way, locals had little fruit and cold drink stands set up. I definitely enjoyed some ice cream along the way.

The vegetation was so diverse and so lush!

Enjoying the view on our way down into the community

Bamboo forest

It took us about 3 hours to reach a small mountain village....SO COOL!

I've never experienced anything like it. There weren't many locals around...mostly chickens and ducks...but I did find an old lady, her husband, and seemingly their son, daughter and grandchild. No one spoke any English and our Chinese is horrible, at best. It's a neat experience though when you are conversing with 2 COMPLETELY different languages that neither understands....we made it work though....I bought some bamboo creations and my pals bought some tea. It truly felt like we traveled back in time. I do feel inspired to spend more time experiencing those types of totally self sufficient communities...untouched by technology of the 21st century.