First and
foremost! I'm sorry! To those who, for the first year, consistently checked in
on my regular blog updates, the last 12 months I have let you down in epic
proportions and I know that visits to my blog page bookmarked on your browser
have left you momentarily (for 12 months) disappointed! I'm sorry!
How the
slackness started is quite blog worthy in itself. It began with India! Looking
back at the last blog post about India, I remember thinking how I knew the forthcoming 2 months there were going to give
me so much fodder to ingest and verbally regurgitate however, I just ended up
with all of my senses overwhelmed, a serious blockage to my writing ability and
verbal indigestion due to the overload that India was. For so long I tried to
write about India but I couldn't justify the experience through mere narrative,
the personal emotional and spiritual journey I took had to also be explained
and for that I just couldn't find the words.
This was
the last thing I wrote while in Cambodia…..
"Here
begins my last attempt at writing a blog for my 2 month Indian adventure. It
comes very late and overdue. Many words have been typed and many paragraphs
discarded as I struggled to describe what was one of the most intense,
challenging, frustrating, character building, eye-opening, incredible
experiences of my life! Many times the
words have escaped me as I sat there and tried to work out how I felt about the
whole journey. I still don't know, I am still incredibly unsure. But more than
any adventure I have had so far I feel this one needs to be written about and
if I don't get something down in this attempt the memories will fade, the
emotions discarded and a true, accurate and heartfelt depiction won't be given
and in turn my friends and family will not truly understand the journey that
was "Incredible India".
That is
all I could surmise. My most successful attempt at journaling about the
experience resulted in 4000 words, however, this was just the first week. It
was just to hard. Another hard thing about it was that the majority of the
photos taken were lost due to getting some sort of virus while transferring
them. I was devastated. But when you are travelling so far and wide, these
things are bound to happen. For me, my India experience stays alive in the
memories I retain, the reminiscing with good friends met and made along the way
and each time a cultural reference is made of which I can relate. It certainly
must have made an impression because bookings have been made and I am heading
back in January 2014 for round #2 (more on that later). By then I think I'll be
ready for India once again.
As a
result of my missing journal entries about India, it didn't seem right to
continue on with Thailand, Cambodia and my return to China without first
finishing India (my OCD once again reared it's ugly head). So these blogs also
remained unfinished and for this I apologise. But sitting here on the eve of
another year's end, I figure a quick summary of the year that was is called
for.
2012
began overlooking the Arabian sea. On a little beach in a little town called
Gokarna all the hippies…..and us…..sat together welcoming in the new year. I
sat there fairly unimpressed with the fireworks, the crowds, the craziness of
it all but happy to be in the company of my darling friend Vanessa and our two
brand new Dutch friends who also doubled as our neighbours in our guesthouse.
New Year's day we managed to charter a boat to take us to a secluded beach with
no prying eyes, no crowds and really nothing except our gang of six, our
sunscreen and a frisbee to keep us entertained for the day. Couldn't think of a
more perfect start to the new year. The following morning was also hard to
forget, morning yoga on the beach, a swim in the Arabian sea and breakfast in a
beach café with friends. So perfect.
Thailand
was the next stop! I couldn't have been more excited to meet my two best
friends in Thailand. Anna coming from London and Sarah coming from Australia to
meet together and enjoy a couple of weeks in the land of Thai. Also catching up
with Megs and Andy in Koh Samui. We
covered Koh Samui, Bangkok, and Kanchanaburi taking in the warm welcoming
smiles of the Thai people, soaking in the sun and enjoying the familiarity and
company of old friends! It was a great little holiday!
Cambodia
was amazing. It has to be one of my favourite places so far! It was an amazing
experience to be able to spend a month working at New Hope Cambodia. I met so
many amazing people, had a fantastic time and it felt more like home than
anything for the time I was there. The people in Mondul 3 (the village the NGO
specifically targets) were just amazing. Working there confirmed everything in
my heart about my future career aspirations in education and development. I was
reading a paper by the World Bank the other day, it said "Education is the
ultimate liberator…..education is the ultimate equaliser". This was so
evident in the lives of the people in Mondul 3. Education can do so much for
the people of a community to have a better chance.
I
finished my time there in early February and after 6 months of travelling and
no money left I was so excited to get back to China - which felt like home more
than ever before. A new city and a new job with a new school kept me excited
for the year to come, although I was a little worried about what it would mean
for me to sit tight in one place for a year! Little was I to know that events
would change my course for the year and have me back in Australia for 4 months
of it.
Getting
back to China, in the North where I was to make my new home, also meant coming
back in mid-winter! Oh dear! I arrived back with a single jumper and layered
all the clothes I possibly could from my 6 months in SE Asia only to have to
travel back to my old city in China the following day to retrieve my winter
clothes. Let's just say it wasn't the most carefully planned strategy! That
night it snowed!
After
three months of settling back into life in China, I got the phone call that
every person dreads when they are so far from home. Dad had had a stroke. If
there is one thing the universe can throw at you to make you feel so small and
insignificant, helpless and alone, it's that something tragic has happened to
someone you dearly love. Up until this point I had been so sick of hearing bad
news from home. An uncle had passed suddenly , a cousin had been diagnosed with
terminal brain cancer, a friend's husband had tragically passed away because of
a football accident and now this! By this point, I couldn't have felt more
helpless, more angry at the universe if I tried! At first my family was telling
me to stay put. Dad's situation looked fairly good considering and everyone was
optimistic about a speedy recovery but then complications occurred and I was on
the next plane home. For how long I was uncertain until a couple of weeks later
I rebooked my flights back to China for 4 months later.
There was
a lot of lessons in this whole process for me! The biggest of all was how we
should never take anything for granted. Be grateful for our health, our family,
all that we have in it's present condition because in a matter of minutes it
can all change. 7 months later, dad still doesn't have the function of his left
arm but he has everything else and most importantly, his life. It was a hard
decision to come back to China and leave the family to continue the journey,
but I know the four months I did stay was the important part and with my
family's blessing, I know I still needed to continue the journey I was on!
Although
unexpected, Australia was fun! I got to spend my birthday with my beloved QLD
crew, go skiing, take road trips to see old friends, spend time with besties
from my childhood and reconnect with my beloved Oz after so much time away. It
was good to make the most of a bad situation.
It's been
three months since I arrived back in China! Back to a very familiar life! I
missed everything about China so much and it felt so much like home coming back
for the third time. The last three months have flown by and the end of the year
is looming. I re-signed another contract with my school and I will be staying
on here until about this time next year, cutting my contract short by a month
to get home for a friend's wedding!
A month
after I got back to China we had a national holiday here which like all good
national holidays should do, went for a week! So six of us took a trip down to
South China to check out what all the fuss was about in Guilin, Yangshuo and
James and I had to make a trip back to Chengdu at the end to commemorate where
our friendship began! It was a crazy trip, trying to pack in more than we could
fit. It ended up being more transit time than holiday time but we all had a
great time together, making the most of our 25 hour sleeper bus journey,
numerous flights and the beautiful natural sights of China!
Guilin
Oh and I got a new tattoo! :)
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"Women hold up Half the Sky"
Uni has
been manic! I just finished one of the busiest semesters of my whole degree.
But well worth it to catch up on lost time from travelling and my return home.
After I get back from Europe I will have 9 months of study left and then apart
from my internship when I come home, I am done! It's such a great feeling!
Next year
is turning out to be epic!
It's only
8 weeks until Eurotrip #2. For the month of February I will be heading to
Europe to catch up with friends I have met along the way and tick off a couple
of must see destinations along the way. I will be spending a week in Stockholm
with my gorgeous Swedish friend Betty who I met in Cambodia. Hitting Prague to
catch up with the boys from TEFL in Feb '11, making it 2 years since then!
Crazy! I will be doing some quick trips to Berlin, Budapest and Vienna and then
finally ending in Holland to see my dear dear dear Dutchie friends who I met in
India. I couldn't be more excited. This trip will make for some more blog worthy moments - this I am sure of!
April is
placement in Hong Kong for me! 3 weeks at the Australian International School
Hong Kong. Really looking forward to that.
August
(our summer) is looking like some time spent in Greek Islands (Eurotrip #3)
with a bestie who has booked some time there!
October
is a cycling trip on the Chinese tropical island (yes, we have a tropical side
to China) of Hainan with one of my best mates here in China. More on the
cycling thing later.
December
is the return to Australia for wedding fever and some fundraising for yet
another cycling trip in India (Jan '14) to support Tejas Asia (the NGO I worked
with in Delhi). More on that…….
Cycling….yes
cycling….those of you who know me well will be raising your eyebrows, but also
thinking "here goes HJ with another hair brained crazy idea of hers".
I really wanted to do a cycling Charity Challenge on my way home and the more I
got thinking, the more I decided that instead of putting all the hard work in
to support a random cause, I would organise my own and support Tejas Asia, a
cause I truly believe in and have been trying to think of ways in which I could
do so...from China. You know me, I don't plan things small. My friend and I are
looking into purchasing touring bikes next year and have decided we are going
to train for a couple of cycling trips, enough to get me ready for the 600kms
India has in store for me. The trip is booked, the bikes are in the process of
being purchased and the training will begin as soon as this disgusting winter
is over. On my return home I will do a couple of fundraising dinners to raise
some funds and throughout next year gather support and sponsorship for my trip!
So be warned, oh dearest friends of mine, I will be hitting you all up for
sponsorship sometime next year! This is one heck of a challenge for me and I
will be seeking the support and sponsorship for my much needed motivation!
So that's
the year that was and the year that will be in summary! Time is flying! My
return home will mark three years since I departed on this crazy journey
abroad! I am sure the following 12 months will bring me many a story to
transcribe into a glamorous tale fit for the "Adventures of HJ".
Love to you all!
HJ xx
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