We blazed a trail through eleven countries/territories, meandered through 18 airports either fully coherent or in a jet lag haze. The year began with an overflowing social calendar, only to be completely empty by the last fourth of the year. We were welcomed into homes across the globe, forging new friends along the journey. We survived living with seven children in one house and actually have a lot of fond memories of the mayhem. We changed schools and moved across the Guangdong province. We learned that Zach has a fear of swooping bats. We mowed a football field with a push mower. We have walked in places that are now completely devastated due to hurricanes Irma and Maria. Zach jet skied for the first time. I added a few Chinese words to my language pack.
Ultimately, it was a doozy of a year filled with new experiences, changes, gut-wrenching farewells, football, an abundance of travel, and beautiful reunions. This new year is setting up to be another fantastic year with definite changes, but before we get swept too far into 2018, here are the highlights of 2017.
A: Australia
As our plane landed on the runway in Sydney, Zach said, "The last time I was here, I was carrying a discman and a case of CDs." Wide-eyed and giggling, I disembarked to face a pair of quintessential Aussie customs agents - one who looked as though he had walked straight from the beach and stashed his surfboard beneath the desk - and his desk partner, who had the blondest of blonde hair to match the tan, the accent, and the endearing, "darling" at the end of her welcome to Australia.
Australia was absolutely neglected on this blog in that not one post was written about our time in that amazing country. My aspirations to do so after the fact were swept away with a whirlwind semester. A year later, I look through pictures and notes kept from that amazing month.
I still giggle at town names like Fassifern, Wizzenbucca, Mullumbimby.
I love that I saw koalas and wallabies.
Our road trip to retrace Zach's summer job so long ago and meet people that I had heard about repeatedly was delightful in every way.
Australian pies are yummy.
I hugged a Mary Poppins statue in Maryborough.
While it sounded cool, Yamba was the biggest disappointment and the most expensive hostel ever.
Melbourne was our favorite city, as it reminded us a lot of Portland with its art and culture.
Australia beaches are as beautiful and sunny as advertised. I kept getting distracted by them.
I dubbed the country the Granny State because everything was closed by 3pm. I never thought I would eat so much Indian and Thai food in Australia.
The Opera house is rather ugly up close.
We cheered on the Newcastle Jets football teams with the supporters as they battled Melbourne City FC (though Zach says he was secretly cheering for the Melbourne City women.)
We drove a lot, walked a lot, laughed a lot, and thoroughly enjoyed our four weeks in the land down under.
B: Books Read
By year end, I read 74 books, though I have a suspicion that I forgot to log a couple. I read books from 11 countries. My best series (recommended by friend, Carol) was the Bess Crawford Series by Charles Todd. I found myself sucked into this series not for the writing, but a mystery series set against the backdrop of WWI and with a front line nurse as the main character was really interesting.
My favorite fiction of the year was The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. I laughed so many times while reading this one.
The best nonfiction is a tie between The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony and Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. Strangely, both are set in South Africa but offer two very different perspectives into the country.
The best book of short stories is Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu. This is not for the faint of heart, and I think a lot of the stories resonated with me because I live in China; though his stories are fictional, there are definitely elements of truth in them.
As for Zach, he ended the year with a tally of 41 books, reading from 12 series. His favorite reads of the year were Boy on the Bridge by Mike Carey and a re-read of Eye of the World from the Wheel of Time series.
Our favorite children's books of the year were Maple by Lori Nichols and a Tribe of Kids by Lane Smith.
C: Cuisine Memory
Late one evening, Zach and I found ourselves sitting with mom at the Johnny Rockets bar on the cruise ship, sipping milkshakes, eating french fries, and laughing with the wonderful worker from Guyana.
D: Destination of the Year
"Why do you want to go there?" was the common response anytime we mentioned going to Brunei. On repeat, we would say that it was our last country in southeast Asia and we wanted to explore it. After six days there, it is the hidden gem of this area and a perfect example that hearsay does not always align with actuality. We joke that we do not want to tell too many people how amazing the country is so that tourism does not destroy it. Our time in the sultanate by the sea was filled with an overabundance of friendliness, beautiful architecture, great museums, new food experiences, and an extended stay. I think a gentleman, who stopped to asked us if we needed a ride, summed up the country quite well: "I came here on a one year contract....in 1982."
E: Event That Made You Say Wow
Two events were definitely wow moments: being able to see the solar eclipse from our front yard, as well as watching baby turtles hatch and run (very slowly) for the ocean while in Puerto Rico.
F: Favorite Picture(s) of the Year
This category is always an agonizing dilemma for the accidental photographers. This year, I have chosen six.
Waiting for a village parade to begin, I snapped this photo of two friends passing the time watching their favorite show while fueling for the long trek ahead.
Dusty, windblown, and loving the sea air, I think Zach or McKinzee snapped this shot while on an excursion in Curacao. That ended up being our favorite stop of the cruise, and this one of my photos.
This guy grabbed my attention during a day hike with friends. Funny, daring, and a bit stupid, I snapped this photo moments before he jumped into the frigid waters beneath the waterfall.
After an incredible summer and facing a lot of unknown, I absolutely loved that we returned to Hong Kong as the sun rose. Flying over the mountainous islands, some fog, ships coming and going, I was reminded that this season of life is such a treat.
The alleyways of Shantou have been fascinating places to explore. I loved this shot showing the textures of an apartment complex as well as the woman watching the world go by.
Definitely an accidental shot as I was focused on the silhouettes of the women watching the village opera and did not notice the child, in the glow of the stage lights, completely enamored with the performance.
G: Grossest Moment
Walking into our new apartment in Shantou was absolutely disgusting and the beginning of a two month battle with the school to get things fixed. Truly, by year's end, the only two things not to break are the refrigerator and washing machine.
H: Happiest Moment
Zach says celebrating his birthday in Portland surrounded by those we love greatly was his happiest moment.
I: Inconsistent Water
Our new campus has a problem keeping water running through its pipes. Nearly every corner of our hutong is filled with water bottles in preparation for the days without the elixir of life.
J: Journey That Took You the Longest
We had no idea that flying from Portland to Puerto Rico would take longer than flying halfway around the world. To and from, it included a red eye and four connections. Though we did get upgraded to first class for the final leg and that was amazingly weird.
K: Keepsake from Your Travels
We ended the year with five new Starbucks mugs, three football jerseys, an array of tea from different countries, artwork for Curacao and Puerto Rico, and a piece of Bruneian silk.
L: Lies Abounding
We both agree that with the information we were told and the contract given, we could not have made a different decision. Months later, after walking into a hellhole and everything found to be a lie, we can say that Shantou Polytehnic College will not be a long term stay for us. This semester has been a disaster on multiple levels - horrid administration, language level way below expected, a campus that is so far removed from any adequate form of transportation, the limited availability to get food or goods, to the overwhelming sense of loneliness. Students are terrified of us and all other adults vacate the premise at 4pm bound for their apartments downtown. While we are grateful to see and experience a new side of China, we are ready to live somewhere with life.
M: Moment When You (Re)Fell in Love with Travel
Walking through the Curacao harbor yard to find the immigration office - it was bizarre, quite unique, and resulted in meeting a sailing family in the office and a trio of men using old ship parts to create amazing metalwork art.
N: Nicest Hotel of the Year
This is a tie between the Sunnyside Tavern in Newcastle and the beachfront Puerto Rico condo (though technically not a hotel.) We found staying in pubs to be fantastic during our jaunt through Ireland, so we tend to look for such options since then. Bob treated us to the delight of being able to walk out our door onto the beach in Puerto Rico.
O: Odd, Just Odd
A popular Chinese idiom is:
天高皇帝远, Tiān gāo, huángdì yuǎn which translates to heaven is high and the emperor is far away. Its original meaning was for justice, but has come to encompass any shady dealings of modern times. Corruption does run rampant and for all the talk of tamping it, when the entire system is built on it then nothing will change.
We have seen a handful of "oops, you got caught" moments in our time here, starting with our first year at GDOU as the foreign affairs office was quietly disbanded, demoted, and shamed. No one was fired, just shuffled to another position that may or may not have so much access to funds. We had suspicions that things were not all peachy in paradise last October when the mayor did not appear at his annual gala, nor did our university president. Gradually, we noticed that edicts that had been handed down from high (with a shaking finger and a fist on the hip), were slowly being ignored around town. If the leaders do not say it, then it does not happen.
At the beginning of the spring term, we truly knew something was brewing on campus as new buses appeared, one of our students was expelled for cheating on an exam, and there was a lot of cleaning happening within the administration buildings. While new buses do not just appear during corruption investigations, a student (along with three others) being expelled for cheating on an exam does send a red flag. Students cheat on exams all the time; if the teacher does not post the answers on the screen while they take the exam, answers are scrawled on the desks and walls before the exam. (Truly, Chinese educational integrity is an entire blog post of its own making.) The cleaning was the biggest sign of the times. Chinese do not throw anything away (proof by the apartment that houses all nasty mattresses, broken microwaves and washers, molded furniture, and other mysterious objects that have been there so long they are no longer recognizable.)
The repetitive thud in front of our apartment drew our attention one afternoon. We were shocked, even humored, by the amount of paperwork that was being dumped from the offices.Granted, the cleaning of one building may not be what we think it means, but when all the administration buildings had a simultaneous itch to spring clean, things seemed a bit more believable.
The shadiest of shenanigans involved our apartment smelling like rotting fish for an entire day. Early one morning we heard a commotion behind our apartment, which really is not that unusual. The smell that followed that commotion was unusual, as was the opened doors on the bottom floor of the museum. Six years and those doors had never been opened...until a humongous sea creature needed to be skinned, gutted and sold in parts.
As blood poured out the door and pooled on the concrete and the Chinese inside cackled with glee at their butchery, Zach and I so hoped that China would not take over the world. If it does, wildlife is doomed, for if it can be slaughtered and eaten, it will be at the hands of the Chinese.
When we talked to students about it later, a couple of them said they had heard the creature (which we think was a shark or whale based on size) had been found. The fisherman did not want to waste such meat, so they decided to sneakily bring it to GDOU beneath a tarp, gut and skin in the basement of a building that is never used on campus, then take it out in large fillets bundled in tarps usually used for building materials. Yes, absolutely nothing fishy about that.
Our summer deserves a category by itself. It was hours spent swimming, reading books. laying in a hammock, chasing children, singing the Moana soundtrack on repeat, playing football and softball, walks, feasts, celebrations, long talks, yelling with the Timbers Army and Riveters, mini-weddings, camp meals, wrestle wars, and the million other small moments that made it a great summer.
Q: Quote(s) of the Year
If one of the greatest joys is encountering a friend far from home, making a friend must be as well.
- Grace Lin, When the Sea Turned to Silver
You must step inside a world to see it honestly. A passing glance won't do.
- Tehereh Mafi, Furthermore
R: Relaxed Moment
In reminiscing about the year, we joked that the three summer days when the house was abandoned by all except us was the most relaxing...even though we found ourselves constantly checking to make sure a child had not been left behind.
S: Superstar Moment
While stares and obnoxious hellos are a normal part of our day, moving to Shantou has proven that though we live in the late 2000s, apparently some are still in the 1800s of no foreigner contact. Shantou has taken foreigner spotting and RFPs to an entirely new level, to the point of creepy and fearing for our safety. The times we have had to jump out of the path of a motobike who's driver is wide eyed and open mouthed to being followed for blocks by children and adults are uncountable. We even had to hide in a bathroom at a movie theatre to get away from an unpleasant horde of children and adults, where even a handful tried to follow. Thankfully, a employee rescued us and allowed us to enter the theatre well before the normal entrance time.
T: Touristy Thing
Sailing on a ship, driving dune buggies, and riding jet skis in a bay while cruising the Caribbean definitely counts as the most touristy things we did this year.
U: Unforgettable Travel Memory
We stumbled across the vibrant blue church on a late afternoon walk. Walking through the gates, we quickly realized that a service was on the cusp of beginning. The pastor quickly greeted us and invited us in, to which we agreed, happy to sit for a bit. Three hours later, when exiting, the pastor stopped us to chat. Noticing Zach's football jersey, he quickly pulled another man over and introduced us with, "He likes football, too." We laughed, commented about how the game brings the world together, and chatted for a few minutes. As we made to leave again, the man said, "I will take them to dinner."
Stunned, we responded that was not necessary to which he was responded that he wanted to do so and promptly yelled for his kids. Twenty minutes later, we found ourselves at an Indian restaurant, swapping traveling stories, telling why we were in Brunei, and listening to what life looks like in Brunei. It was delightful - so unexpected, yet the very thing we hope for when traveling.
As they dropped us off at our hotel and we gushed our thanks, they announced they would pick us up the next evening for a jaunt to the market and dinner at their house.
They did.
It was such an enjoyable evening. I do not know if the Lee family will ever fully know what their connection meant to us. Even in such a full year, this meeting is still a highlight and one that we talk about often. Plus, unbeknownst to us at the time, it was to be the start of many connections to come with new and old friends which is why I think the unforgettable travel memory for the year is solely about the people.
V: Visit of the Year
Early in the year, we gained a partner-in-crime and housemate for a month when Josiah came to China. He raided our fridge with gusto, made me feel like my cooking was amazing, laughed a lot, met our students and friends, had his fortune told, experienced a village celebration, ate a lot of dumplings, and successfully survived living in another country. It was such a fun time and we hope that one day we get to do it again somewhere in the world.
W: Wedding
We remember when they started dating as students in GDOU and repeatedly joked that the day they were to marry, we would be there. Amy kept her promise, even upping the ante by adding us to the wedding party.
X: eXcellent View
After an evening watching The Nutcracker, we joined Roger and Ada at a posh bar for drinks and a stunning view of the Hong Kong harbor skyline.
Y: Your Hardest Moment While Traveling
Upon taking off from KLIA, we (and a few fellow flyers) quickly realized that something was not right with our plane. Vibrating and a consistent wrenching noise beneath our feet was evident of mechanical issues. Initially, the flight crew poo-pooed our concerns, but an hour into the flight, it was announced that we were turning around to return to KLIA. We can now say that we have been on a flight where emergency crews were on the runway and the cockpit gave a countdown until touchdown. Nothing broke apart upon landing, a woman yelled, "Thank you, Jesus!", and the rest of us clapped. An hour later, we were back in the air, sans weird noises.
Z: Zhanjiang
When we passed through the towering marble columns of the school gate for the first time, we were battered by six months of living in Beijing, in awe of the tropical zone we had plopped into, and perpetually curious about the new village that would be home for the year…
...and another year.
...and another one.
...one more? Sure.
...five...
..and then a bonus year.
Six years.
At the end of June, this was as far as I could get in writing before starting to weep.
Six years.
I could not write anymore. The emotions were too raw. Too new. Too overwhelming. Not only did I struggle with tears, but with words. How could I capture the hurt of this departure? What could I say to convey what a moment this was to us and our friends?
I...we owe so much to Zhanjiang and GDOU. Beneath its palm frond speckled skies and brilliant sunsets, we learned abundantly. We learned the nuances of another culture. We learned to laugh and cry with those that walk very different paths. We learned to choose our battles wisely. We learned that tropical fruit is manna from heaven. We walked alongside some in their hardest moments as well as their happiest. We dealt with death, sexpats, corruption, weird sickness, frustrations, and crumbling walls. We celebrated. We learned the most effective ways to clean mold. We were in TV shows and sports competitions. We explored. We made lasting friendships. We thrived.
The day before we left, our fellow teacher and friend, Michelle handed me a package. Upon opening, it was a binder filled with notes from students spanning our time, as well as bosses from our favorite restaurants and businesses. I could read the first note without tears. Though the students wrote their memories and well wishes for what was to come for us, it was such a tangible reminder that it was us who owed so much to them. They were the reason we stayed. They were the reason we laughed, cried, and yelled in frustration. They were the ones who taught us the most and we will always be grateful they made it home for us.
