China 2002

Shortly after returning to the States from my first Asian adventure, I promised myself that I would return to the Far East. True to my word, I battled administrative red tape here and abroad, and before I knew it I was sitting in Chinese class at Beijing Language and Culture University, listening to Tian Laoshi correct my tones.

I lived in China for nearly four months and barely scratched the surface. I made some of the best friends I’ve ever had, I climbed in places that few people had ever climbed before. I ate things I never thought I would touch, and I learned to interact and be at home in a culture totally foreign to me. It was perhaps the most amazing experience of my life and nearly six months later, I still had dreams in Chinese and try to this day to conjure up ways to go back.

No website could do a justice to the experiences I had in the Middle Kingdom, but I will include a few links here that may give you just a taste of how I spent my days…

• Kuai yi dianr- Our class website by Mark
• Thanksgiving in Beijing – My father’s photos
• Trip Report – Climbing at Feng Huang Ling
• Letters home – The whole story