Almost a Plan

Here’s the closest thing to a plan that I have: I leave Lanzhou on Thursday with my friend Dustin. We’re not sure yet where we’re going. Dustin is meeting his brother back in Lanzhou after that, so from wherever we go, I’m going to travel by myself.

I don’t know where exactly, but I’ll go south first (Chengdu? Kunming?), then head east (Guangzhou?) and work my way up the coast. I’m avoiding Beijing, but will end up there in August. Dustin and another American friend, Ellen, are flying out of Beijing within a few days of when I do, so we’re planning to meet up and see each other off.

I know you’re probably thinking it’s not a good idea for me to travel alone, but I want to and I feel safe. Plus, I know I won’t be alone. Every foreign student in China will be traveling like me, so I’ll meet other westerners in the hostels, on the trains, and in the cities. And, wherever I go, I never have any problem meeting Chinese students.

Also, I’m going to keep in close contact with my Chinese friends. I hope to meet up with several of them, and their families all want me to stay with them for a few days.

I’m so excited to travel…

The Pick-Pocket

I encountered a pick-pocket today for the first time.

I have lived in China for over a month now, and I consider myself extremely lucky for having not had any issues with pick-pockets until now. When I first arrived in Lanzhou, everyone I met gave me helpful advice for me regarding various aspects of life here. And without fail, each person warned me of pick-pockets.

I have a small messenger bag and I wear the strap across my body. I always keep it in front of me and have one hand over the zipper. This afternoon I was walking down a wide, open street of fruit vendors when I felt a very light tug on the strap. A young teenager was trying to slowly unzip my bag without me noticing.

Pick-pockets like these have no intention of physically harming anyone. They become easily scared and run away, so I wasn't the least bit concerned. I actually had some fun.

As soon as I felt the tug, I put my hand on my bag and turned around. I stared at the kid for about 5 seconds, which I'm sure seemed like an eternity to him. He started to walk away and I held my glare. Everyone around me saw what happened. He couldn't take the embarrassment, so he ran away.

I felt victorious.

Homesickness

I have been in China for a month and I haven't been homesick. I don't even miss anything from America. Sure, the ice cream, chocolate, coffee, and bread are pretty lame here. I rarely hear English. It's dirty everywhere. I can't drink the water or eat fruit. But I don't care.

Really, I don't.

If I said I didn't miss my family, that wouldn't be true. But it's no different than when I'm at college in America. Last semester in the states I went home three times, during breaks. This semester I'm just not going home.

I know it's harder on my family because they worry about me more here than when I was in America. But in some ways, I feel safer here. For example, there are so many people on the streets at all hours that I can go out at night if I want. And I didn't like walking around campus after dark in the U.S...

Maybe the reason that I haven't been missing the U.S., though, is because I've been with other westerners a lot lately. It's awesome to be in China with people from so many different countries, but I get really excited about talking with other people from America. We have so much in common just because of where we're from. There's a basic understanding and common ground between all of us, and it's so refreshing.