This past week, we took a class trip to an organic farm. Our school has a fall and spring outing and my coworkers warned me prior that it is one of the most tiring days of the year. Very accurate! This farm was about 40 minutes from the school on the Pudong side of Shanghai. We had a wonderful day and it reminded me of all the amazing field trips I had growing up!
I took an incredible three day trip to see the Rainbow Mountains which are a geological phenomenon! I planned this trip Sunday night and left Tuesday morning. I’ve had this past week off post-summer camp and pre-school year. My passport is currently at the bureau to transfer my work visas which means I can only travel within China! If I had my passport I would’ve left the country, but I’m so glad I had this opportunity to visit another corner of China! I stayed in a yurt for two nights, gazed at stars and decompressed from the insanity of city life in Shanghai. Currently I am in Xi’an for the day before I head back to Shanghai.
So it turns out that republicans and buffalo and wind are not the only things in Wyoming! The most amazing national park is there too: Medicine Bow National Park. This past weekend I went to Wyoming to spend time with family and get outdoors and have some mad fun! Warning: The video includes dad dancing and fun. So if you don’t like either..byeeeee!
Lately I’ve been somewhat stuck, trapped in the questions of college, identity and the massive future that is already happening. So much in our life is out of control which is equally comforting and terrifying. Because anything could happen.
Amidst the rhythmic and chaotic circulation that we all sometimes find ourselves in, it eventually becomes essential to throw it all away, jump in a car and hit the road for a good old-fashioned road trip. This is exactly what I did with one tent, two friends and three days in the most beautiful state that I call home, Colorado. There is something about getting away from the city and moving into nature that allows time to slow and down and deeply moving and meaningful experiences to be felt. While I absolutely love the city life, there is nothing like being in the great outdoors. With minimum planning, we settled on a three day trip that would take us from Denver to Buena Vista, Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado Springs and back. It’s fair to say that we returned back to Denver wanting more of life on the road and inspired for the next adventure.
I am catching up on the past while trying to be in the present and planning for the future and its quite the overwhelming, but quintessential life experience and I love and hate it all at the same time.
College is the epitome of a beautiful conundrum. It is failing to learn and learning to fail, figuring everything out only to realize you know nothing, interacting with the best (and sometimes the worst) people and realizing that every moment of life is flying by and you might as well enjoy it to the maximum because none of us know the future. No class inside or outside the classroom can teach that. Embrace now.
Lately in life I have been lost in the world (as opposed to school). I have been far too distracted and interested in the world (and less in my reading) and can’t seem to stop moving; its as though I have an endless adventurous twitch in my body that won’t let me sit still. I had an amazing weekend and went on countless adventures, mostly by myself which was kind of perfect. I think a lot of people have a huge fear of being by themselves, solo and alone. I think there’s no better way than to be my yourself; we all are stuck with ourselves our entire lives, so you might as well learn to enjoy it.
It’s hard to believe that we are already in the midst of September, finished our third week of school and fall is (almost) descending on us. Where did the time go? It seems like it was just yesterday when I moved back to Boulder, completed RA training, helped all the students move in and sat down in class for the first day of school. Time can move so fast, particularly back in the city and in the frenzy of life at school. After concluding that we all needed a break, a group of friends and myself decided to leave Boulder for twenty-four hours, camp and summit a fourteener. As great as it is to be back at school, we were all getting restless and needed to getaway! And, what better place to getaway then at the top of a 14,000 foot mountain?
Kaila in the World 