Tuesday, May 06, 2014

My Facebook Feed and Me


When I leave on vacation, since I don’t have the Facebook app installed on my phone (and here in China the double whammy of not having a VPN activated on my phone), I can go days at a time without checking my Newsfeed on Facebook.  So, when I get back, I plant myself in front of my computer and scroll through to read and view “the lives of other.”  This past weekend, after my weekend trip with Onions, I sat down to do my ritual Facebook catch-up but this time I decided to really pay attention to the feelings and reactions I had to what I was reading and seeing.  In addition, I was conscious of what (or who’s) links I clicked through.  The following list tells me a LOT about where I am in my life at the moment in that there are those things that give me pangs of envy (therefore things I want or strive to be) and those things that I give a cursory glance to (those things that I really have no interest in). Here’s a summary….

Things that interest me or give me a punch to the emotional gut

1)    Any reference or photo or link to somewhere that I haven’t yet traveled but realize I want to go.  Kyrgyzstan?  Did someone post that they recently went to Kyrgyzstan?  The fact that I saw the photos made me long to go to that central Asian country.  Readers should not be surprised if I head there sometime in the next few years.  I realize that it was seeing photos Australia and New Zealand that pushed me over the edge to decide to head there this summer!

2)    Pictures or references to babies and kids.  The fact that I see babies and kids of my friends and I am jealous…..makes me realize that now, at 44, I’m ready to have kids AND WANT TO raise a child of my own.  My fictional womb is awake and soon to be screaming.

3)    When I read about or hear about the achievements of my former students.  It’s crazy, but I’ve been teaching since 1995 and some of my first students are now married and raising families of their own.  Some of them have advanced so far in their careers and are doing such amazing things.  I’m proud of them, but it also makes me somewhat sad that I feel I’ve stagnated.  Yes, I’ve moved abroad and am living in China, but I’m still teaching.  Why aren’t I on the cutting edge?  I feel as though I too should be really doing bigger and greater things.  The reaction here also stems from that regret that I’m in my mid-40’s and I wish I hadn’t been so complacent with my life in my 20’s and 30’s. I wish I had just taken more chances and risks!

4)    When I read about people’s athletic achievements. The emotional gut punch here is my jealousy and still not fully healed sorrow to the fact that I am no longer have all my physical ability after my accident over a decade ago.  It’s not enough that I am lucky to be upright and walking, but I so want to also be out there running in the marathons and 5K’s, I want to be playing tennis and Frisbee or Gaelic Football. 

5)    And whenever I see someone post a picture or link to some gay article about some guy’s fabulous life or some hot pictures of gay guys (or even just guys who have the ability to grow a beard) it makes me sad that I was and never will be that kind of object of sexual lust or attraction.  It would have been nice, just at some point in my life to be able to be “that hot guy.”

6)    How excited I am when I see certain people post.  I’ve realized there are about 5 Facebook friends for whom every post is fun, witty and every link I click through without question because they have proven over and over again that what they think is interesting is also of interest to me!

7)     And with the advent of all the new ads in my Facebook feed, I’m more than tempted to join one of those services that sends me new and stylish clothing each month.  Those of you who are familiar with my wardrobe…..it’s a pity that I’m not living in the United States right now because I would most certainly be a member of the Trunk Club!

Those things I don’t really care about….

8)    Why do people EVER post pictures of food?  I just don’t get it.  Yes, you got to eat a nice meal and it was pretty.  But it’s gone now…in YOUR STOMACH.

9)    I have certain Facebook friends who post WAY too often.  It’s as if every person they meet and go to coffee with, or every place they go shopping or posting five times an hour.  Isn’t that what Twitter was created for?  Just the highlights please….and no humble bragging.  That’s junior league.

10)  College girls who post pictures of themselves or are tagged in pictures falling all over themselves.  Ok, one or two is fine.  But if it dominates my newsfeed, BASTA, as they say in Italian.  And why do they always have to accentuate and push forward their chests?

11) TBT….most of the time the pictures people post of their former selves is cringeworthy.  Do we really all need to relive the bad hair and ill-fitting clothes?

12) Lastly, I DON’T CARE ABOUT DOGS AND CATS.  Especially your dogs and cats.






Sunday, May 04, 2014

The Trip Where I Learned Onions Travels Like a "BEAST"

May 1st, International Labor Day, and all of China (and maybe the world?) has the day off.  Onions and I ended up heading to the famed Huangshan in Anhui province.  Usually, I am in charge of planning, but this time, I let Onions "drive."  And boy did he rise to my expectations of organization and planning!  An overnight train to Hefei and then a long bus ride to the base of Huangshan and then a late afternoon cable card ride to the mountain summit.

Being that it was a national Chinese holiday we were braced for huge crowds, but we were surprised by having the entire mountain basically to ourselves.



We did NOT expect to have any moment where we were alone.  But many times during that three hour afternoon before the sun set did we have quiet moments on the mountain and a chance to look at the stunning views without another person in sight!


We had the opportunity to have the mountain to "ourselves" because we decided to stay at the top of the mountain in one of the hotels, as shown in the bottom of the picture above.  We reserved a dorm room to share with four others....but we had the room to ourselves!  It was a perfect day on Huangshan!


The next morning we hiked DOWN into the West Canyon.



It was 5km of stairs all the way down! Thankfully there is a recent tram to bring us back up.

Looking back up the canyon from the bottom of West Canyon.


Here we are as we are working our way down the mountain.  You can see behind us the masses that were on the mountain that Friday.  We spent an hour in a crowded line at a point where people could go only single file.  Police were on the mountain to send line cutters back into line.  Thankfully we had the afternoon before so my patience for the crowds was infinite.

After we got off of Huangshan, our second planned stop was to the Hui village of Hongcun.

This is the famous bridge that everyone recognizes from Hongcun.  It was used in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon!


The Hui Villages of Southern Anhui are inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.  They are wealthy because the former residents were successful traders and sent money back to these towns to have grand homes built.

The buildings are known for the intricate woodwork.


I was thinking, change the roofs and put these villages on a hilltop and we could easily be in Italy!

I like the parenthetical addition to this famous saying!

So after our afternoon in Hongcun, Onions went into "beast mode."  I learned quite starkly on this trip that he, less so than even me, doesn't like to linger.  We see, we hang for a few minutes and it's on to the next site.  Here he is changing our plans to head to Hangzhou, which turns out was a few hours away.  Canceling train tickets and purchasing plane tickets...all on his phone!

We spent our second evening in the town of Tunxi, with its lively Lao Jie!

We had a fantastic dinner at a Hui restaurant and I ate dog meat for the first time!

Onions great travel planning found us a fantastic room in a hostel for cheap!!

Last stop, Hangzhou and the famed West Lake!

We rented bikes and rode around the lake. Turns out Onions has a college friend who lives here and here he's making plans to meet her!



We walked along the famous causeways and I even got Onions to sit on a bench for AN HOUR.  Unheard of!  Afterwards, dinner with his friend (by the way, I'm charming with all his friends) and then a late flight back to Beijing!