One day I got fed up with reading one travel adventure novel after another, watching National Geographic specials, and knowing my life was on automatic pilot. So I decided it was time to take a risk - quit my job, sell my old pick-up and head for the Orient. Beijing to be exact. Where I signed a one-year teaching contract as a "foreign expert" at the University of Science and Technology. New beginnings.Blissfully I boarded the plane taking me to China. The mysterious Orient! Asia! The Silk Road.On the flight over the Pacific I found myself hitting my head against the window with the horrible knowledge I was an idiot. I didn't know how to speak Chinese! I had exactly $125.00 in my purse, no travelers checks, no nice safe savings account in the bank at home . . . I must have experienced a nervous breakdown that was the only possible reason for why I was on that damn plane.And then we landed and there she was - in all her centuries old splendor. Eagerly I explored the immensity of the Great Wall,the faded beauty of the Forbidden City, and the almost sad, but stalwart, stone soldiers at Xian; all the while groping to understand this fascinating culture. And over the days and months not only did all my fears dissolve; I evolved. My world view changed, expanded, and was enhanced beyond what I thought possible.Well, I didn't come home after my year's contract was up. Nope I continued to teach in China four years. Why? Because somewhere along the way, I discovered I didn't want to be a one-year tourist/teacher, taking photos, making snap observations and then scurrying home to amaze friends with funny travel stories.No, I wanted to truly live in China, not for the wonder of continued exploration and the thrill of 'adventure' but to understand the country and her people. And I will be forever grateful for that journey which altered my life irrevocably.I'm now back home, retired from teaching, and convinced that someday I may just write that photo/journal I'm always talking about - the one where I write about my experiences ranging from staying in tiny mountain villages where no white person had ever been, to spending nights in dark, smoke-filled Mongolian yurts trying not to vomit the salty yak buttered tea I was constantly offered.And even though I haven't written that great travel book yet, it hasn't stopped me from still traveling as much as I possibly can. Been to Florida and Seattle within the last 3 years and plan on traveling some more. I love to meet people, experience life to the fullest, and gaze at stars from foreign shores.
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