35/35/15-50

35/35/15-50

Nope, it's not CrossFit jargon. Or my measurements (well... if you took out the 15. Yikes! Maybe I shouldn't make fun of CrossFit.).

It's a goal.

My 40th birthday passed in the fog of a sinus infection, annoying and uncomfortable yet providing a certain soothing insulation from CERTAIN BIG QUESTIONS, contemplations, regrets. But one wiggled through: There's not enough time and money for me to go everywhere while I'm still healthy enough to do so.

I have to make this happen.

35 unique countries in 35 years, from the age of 15 to 50.

Luckily, and with deep gratitude, I'm already half-way to my goal:

1. Belgium
2. Bulgaria
3. Canada
4. China
5. Denmark
6. England
7. France
8. Georgia
9. Germany
10. Ireland
11. Italy
12. Mexico
13. Netherlands
14. Nigeria
15. Russia
16. Sweden
17. Switzerland
18. Turkey
19. Vatican City

What's next? 16 countries in the remaining 10 years. Somehow.

Christmas in Spain (20.) near Barcelona with my brother, within easy driving distance of Andorra (21.).  And in 2012, I'm going to try hard to get to Cuba (22.).

Wish me luck!

**Update 12/1/11: After a thoughtful debate over Thanksgiving dinner, JW and Brice convinced me I can in fact count Hong Kong separately. Yay for intelligent friends with minds like lawyers.

Home

Home. And well into autumn, chilled rain and fallen yellow leaves. A few holiday lights already shining at night.

The China trip is over.  But in some ways it never will be.  As I organize my fotos and notes, I will continue to post about the trip, and through the years this trip will reverberate through all others, just as my previous library-related trips to Nigeria and Bulgaria found their place in this one.

Was it amazing? Yes! Was it exhausting? Yes! Will I do it again? Every chance I get.

Thanks for reading!

Fellow Traveller

The population is immense, no doubt, but I have yet to experience the claustrophobic crowding of bodies mentioned in all contemporary writing about China. The 200-or-more-story high rise apartments sprouting all over town hint at more people. Somewhere.

There are a very few foreigners like me. On a chance encounter in hotel lobby or incense-filled temple, we tend to politely but tensely ignore each other. So we don't shatter the notion that we're starring in the role of exotic unique foreigner in our private film.

South Pacific

It's before dinner and we find ourselves oddly at a seashore boardwalk, complete with games and rides and slightly sweet Chinese popcorn.

That's when it hits me. That's the Pacific Ocean right there. My Pacific ocean. From the other side.

I'm running towards the water. Remembering a time when Donna and I ran on a moonless night towards the distant sound of the surf, more distant than we realized, peeling off clothes that only the best of luck allowed us to find again later, shivering.

I had to touch this water. From the other side.

It was a little warm and a little brown and I felt a little silly. But pleased.

Not quite yet . . . . . Ok, Now

For months, friends and co-workers bounced joyfully "You must be sooooo excited!!!!!!!"  I felt a little ungrateful mustering an untruthful "Um, yeah, loads" or an honest "No, not really, not yet, I'm sure I will later, closer to the trip." Didn't seem real yet, I suppose. Too many distractions at work or fighting my HMO, I suppose.

Then it happened.

That sort of ohmygod sinking feeling in my tummy, like right before you go over the steep hill of a roller coaster and yell "Wheeeeeeeee!"

We received a tentative itinerary today, with entries like "ancient lanes", "Gushan Mountain", "Mawei shipyard".  These are simple words, but suddenly I felt the spark. I wanted to know more. How ancient are these lanes? How tall is the mountain? Does it have snow on top, or jungle all around? What kind of ships? Can I sail on one? Suddenly I felt the rush.

I'M GOING TO CHINA!  Wheeeeeeee!