The Waterfall

Well, it was time for another adventure, so we packed up our backpacks, and hit the trail this weekend with our Chinese hiking friends. The eight of us met early at the bus terminal that would lead us out of the Spring City and into the rice fields of Yunnan. We had to make a bus transfer about halfway there, so we bought our seats and waited a bit. Nothing out of the ordinary, the (16 passenger) bus was oversold by about five tickets. And to boot, there was no underneath luggage storage for our eight enormous backpacks. We managed to get everyone on, even the extras, sitting up front with faces smashed against the dashboard, and our backpacks cramming us in all along the small aisle. A common question foreigners often have about these busses is 'how many people can you fit on a Chinese bus?' And the answer is always...'one more'. On our brief route to our destination, we pulled the 'one more' rule an additional four times, including a 5'5'' man carrying a 6' piece of marble on his back.

We managed to arrive safely and begin the 4 hour hike to our camping destination. We were so excited because we'd seen pictures, and heard about this beautiful campsite right next to a waterfall. The hike was really quite incredible...teetering on the edges of rice paddies, through fern covered jungle-like areas and across dozens of little streams. We stopped for an occasional rest, where we would open up our granola bar or trail mix, and the 3 guys with us would smoke a cigarette or two.

We began approaching the 4 hour mark when Jon and I realized we were not close to the waterfall, or even on the marked trail we had been following before. We graciously continued to follow our crew and enjoy the views. At around 5 hours of hiking, just when you think, ah, yes, we are getting away from it all out here - just us and nature...we began to hear some really loud music. And as we crept our way over the next hill, we realized we had come upon an entire village, and they were cranking up the karaoke in this valley as if it were downtown Beijing. Well, it was a perfect place to ask for directions to this alleged waterfall we'd been searching for. We were just one mountain away from where we wanted to be, so we creatively carved a path in the right direction. And roughly 1.5 hours later, we caught our first glimpse of it! And honestly, it was amazing to finally see it. Everyone cheered and hollered as we made our way down the steep path and towards the promised campsites sitting nearly in range of the dropping waterfall.

The time was perfect to set up camp, get our jetboil stove fired up, and put together the delicious camp meals we had packed. Except what nobody told us, is that we were going to a nearby restaurant for dinner! (what?!) We got a really, deep good laugh out of this one. After hiking for half a day to this beautiful, and what we thought, remote spot...we began to look around a little more and realize that there was another way to arrive at this waterfall camping location. Drive your car, walk down a few steps (past the full service restaurant), jump on the cable car, and get the same views we worked so hard to earn. Even still, it's all about the journey, not just the destination.

head out on the highway...

Yesterday I sat in the passenger seat of my friend’s car cramming furiously for a drivers test that I just failed the day before even though I have been driving for nearly 20 years. The irony was looking up from my study guide to see hundreds…thousands of cars skippered by Chinese people with a year or two of driving experience, swerving down the highway, careening to the shoulder and avoiding near misses as they stared at the sky to catch a glimpse of the solar eclipse.

There is a happy ending here…I passed on my second attempt with a solid 97. Today, I rejoice in solidarity with all of the 16 year-old Americans who can say with newfound swagger…“I got my license”.

buckle up.

I have been studying for my Chinese drivers license for the past week…from what I hear the test can be difficult, but the good thing is if you fail the first time you can head right back in and immediately re-take. If that doesn’t work, you can take it again twice the next day! I am liking my chances and will keep you posted. I wanted to share just a few of the 1500 grammar-challenged, head scratching questions that you might find funny:

There is an entire section of “When encountering…” questions about what a driver should do in real life driving situations that I assure you I had never thought of as necessary until I came to China…

WHEN encountering…
…a flock of sheep
…pedestrians on the road who are highly concentrated in speaking over cell phones
…a blind man on the road (it begs the question…)
…someone herding animals
…an old man riding a bike (it’s a whole different story if he’s young, I guess.)
…a man powered cart
…pedestrians carrying farm tools on shoulders
…an animal drawn cart
…pedestrians wearing cotton padded caps or overcoats in winter (if they're wearing wool, i suppose you can just ignore them.)

I also found some other helpful tips in the driving test study guide…
1. Refrain from competing with a train
2. When a vehicle wades across the water lightly apply brakes
3. A driver is not allowed to drive a motorized vehicle for 4 hours running without stopping the vehicle and having a rest.
4. When there are many wounded persons, those who should be sent to hospital last are the persons suffering cervical vertebra damage NOT those whose intestines and veins are exposed.
5. If the traffic police discover a driver is suspected of driving a motorized vehicle after taking drugs, they should test his intracorporeal content of psychiatric substance.
6. When carrying the wounded persons in coma or in danger of suffocation, they should lie face down and on their side. (huh?)

Have a great day and watch out for cotton padded caps.

good thoughts

I just took a nostalgia inducing sip of some starbucks pike place brew (thank you family and friends for packages...they are like gold here!!). It’s almost like I was transported back to the States. My mind flashed to liss and me grabbing a starbucks and heading to the north shore for a couple of nights. What a great thought! There is almost nothing better than packing up everything you need on your back, setting off together into the woods and enjoying the Creator God. I am picturing us thoughtfully staring at the fire, flipping through a good book and finally crawling into a warm sleeping bag only to wake up to crisp morning air inviting us to do it all over again. Mmm…sounds good, especially on a holiday weekend like this! Happy 4th to everyone and if you can, enjoy Minnesota for us!