Wo Hen Gaoshing (I am very Happy)

I am feeling very reflective tonight - and not the shining in the dark kind of reflective.  I am sitting in my still boiling hot apartment (yep, no A/C yet), in the tail end of a Typhoon (not as bad as it sounds...just LOTS of rain), far away from most of my friends and family.  I should be miserable.  At another time in my life I would definitely be depressed & homesick.

But I am not.

I am happy.  Very happy.  I just finished my first Mandarin class and I am energized and excited and in love with this amazing adventure.  I felt like I was in kindergarden again, learning the sounds of the different letters (I have to admit most of my early pronunciation sounds like a hybrid between french, polish and spanish).  And it was fun to be unselfconsciously bad at something.

I think moving to Arkansas showed me all the great things that come when you get unstuck, vulnerable and try something crazy and new.  People that knew me thought I was crazy when I moved to Arkansas.  On the surface it met none of the criteria of a place I would want to live.

• It was in the US (sorry my American friends)
• It was very far away from most of my family and not even close to the family I have in the US
• It was not in a big city nor was it close to any big cities
• It was not particularly cosmopolitan
• I really only knew two people there

But it worked for me.  I loved being in a small town.  I loved experiencing Tailgating and a real SEC college football town (WOO PIG SOOIE).  I loved seeing the stars at night and hot summer nights in February.  I loved access to cultural events at ridiculously low prices, and drive thru everything (banking, dry cleaning, liquor, post office, library)...and I loved the friends I met.  For the first time in a very long time I put myself out there and meet new people.  And wow, the people I met were amazing.  I had so much fun experiencing all the "Only in Arkansas" things with them.  It was like going to camp - but as a grown-up.  You had to be there to get it...and nothing will ever be the same.

And now, because of that experience I know this one will be amazing, fun and funny.  I will continue being an explorer of this world and meet new people.  And I will continue being happy.

Going with the flow - understanding traffic in China

One of the first differences a newcomer to China notices is the traffic.  And not just the amount of traffic (it rivals those big traffic cities like L.A and Washington)...but the apparent chaos.  At first glance there are no rules of the road.  Cars, bikes, scooters and buses go wherever they want, whenever they want.  Horns honk, cars slide into your lane, lane sharing is common and turn signals are not used.  It is quite overwhelming, especially after spending 20 hours travelling to Shenzhen.

So Traffic is hell...thankfully I have a driver...but I have to admit that on closer inspection there appears to be a method to the madness.  A friend of mine describes the traffic like the water in a river.  The traffic flows where it needs to, going around obstacles in a fluid, not constricted method.  And like water in a river, traffic in Shenzhen will find a way to get to the destination.  You just need to remember that everyone else if floating down that river too and they can be carried on a separate current.  Don't be constrained by things like lane markings - if you can fit 4 cars across a "3 lane" road surely that is more efficient...isn't it? And remember the only rule really adhered to is the red light (although there are no stop signs on the side streets).

Ah, and the horns.  After observing my driver Fred for a couple of days I am starting to understand the anatomy of a honk...they are used in different ways in different situations:

1. The quick friendly honk - "Hey, I am here in your blind spot.  I notice you drifting over, just want to let you know I am here"
2. The longer not as friendly honk - "Um, Hey watch out - if you keep drifting into my lane you are going to hit me"
3. The angry multiple honk - "Idiot, the light has changed and you didn't start moving immediately - there are a million of us behind you and we can't move until you do"
4. The panic frantic honk - "Bloody Hell, we are all going to die"

Sometime soon I will explain the bikes & electric scooters that are everywhere...definitely a lesson on gravity defiance and thinking outside the North American Traffic Paradigm.