Camping and China: Things in Common

At the Dujiangyan Irrigation System

People who have known me for a long time are well aware of my stance on camping.  I’m against it.  Totally against it.  It’s not that I don’t like nature.  I love nature.  I can spend all day outside, hiking, walking around, napping in a hammock (who’s kidding who – the nap is an important outdoor activity).  But at the end of the day, I want to go home, take a shower in my own bathroom and sleep in my own bed.  I think I came about this philosophy honestly:  when I was a kid I lived in Alaska, and that’s what we did all the time.  We did stuff outside, went to the rec areas for picnics and ran on the beach, but we always came home at night. 

This morning I was Skyping with my friend Priscilla and she asked me what I liked about China.  I thought for a minute, and then responded honestly that I have enjoyed almost everything about it.  The people I’ve met have all be wonderful and interesting, and I am enjoying seeing the sites and learning new things.  But, after over two weeks on the road, I feel about China the way I do about camping.  I’m happy to be out in it all day long, but I really wish at the end of the day I was going to my own home instead of my hotel.

Today was a good example of this.  I went on a day trip with a very nice man named Lai Wei, who will actually be coming to Arizona on this same exchange next year.  We went to see the  Dujiangyan Irrigation System, an irrigation project that was created 2300 years ago.  It was truly fascinating to hear how this engineering feat made it possible for the city of Chengdu to grow and thrive, since it provides basically all the water for this area.  Also at this site there is a beautiful bonsai garden which was so peaceful – it made me want to sit and read for a while (impossible for a variety of reasons, including it was cold and rainy) .  After a short break for lunch we headed to the Qingchen Mountain, the site of several Taoist temples.  We hiked for an hour, pretty much straight up.  Lai Wei said it was very easy, but my legs say it was a workout, and my FitBit said it was 97 flights of stairs.  We met our goal and found one of the major Taoist temples up on the hill.  We took a break and visited, and Lai Wei broke out a small pack of Chips Ahoy cookies he brought for us, which touched me.  Maybe they like Chips Ahoy in China, but I’m going to believe that he (or his wife) thought it would be nice to bring an American snack for me to enjoy.  Then we headed back down the mountain, very very carefully.

It was a good day, a day spent out appreciating nature.  I learned new things, and tried new things, and got a great workout.  And all I could think about on the very long drive back to Chengdu was this:  I really want to sleep in my bed tonight.  That doesn’t mean I won’t be happy to go out and explore again tomorrow, it just means that tonight, as tired as I am, I wish my bed was a little less hard and a little more familiar.