I'm coming home...

T-3 days... unbelievable.

Time(a magical phenomenon):
One year ago: Andrew and I were paddling down the Yukon River making history....
Today: we are packing our bags in China getting ready to head back home after 10 months of teaching and living in a small town in the middle of China.....
Next year: ?????

 I want to remind myself to enjoy each day I get to wake up. Enjoy the fact that I am healthy, in love, and ready to achieve.

 This weekend: I was enjoying watching others race. There were lots of different races around North America, among which there were many people to cheer on and applaud. People who have touched my life in some shape or form.  It does feel weird to be sitting behind a computer cheering people on in my mind, watching and reading results, and  wishing I was at at least one of the races participating... but as life would have it it was my turn to cheer and be proud of all the amazing achievements of others! Very inspirational!

Some Congratulations are in order:

Congrats all SUP racers and race organizers at Kalamalka Classic SUP festival
Congrats Dart Nuun, Yogaslackers and other adventure racers at Untamed New England 4 day Adventure race

Congrats Jacek Doniec and all runners on incredible runs at Western States 100mile

Congrats Steph Corker and all triathletes on Ironman Coeur D'Alene
Congrats Ryan Cain and all triathletes on Half Ironman Mont Tremblant

keep the adventures flowing!

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina

9 days left in China... and I'm not counting anymore

At several points in the year I was sad, angry, felt despair and at a lost... I found myself counting down the days to return to Vancouver and wondering why I CHOSE to be in a far out town in the middle of China with little to no outdoor activities....well I'm still not quite sure why but I do know I'm not counting down the days anymore,... in fact, I'm a little teary eyed to be leaving, and I will miss many memorable adventures from this past year....

 Change is upon me. This is not the first time and I get bet it won't be the last time in my life. I love change- after the instant fear subsides....I love change for all of its unknown factors which allow for unpredicted adventures-good and tough!). Change is difficult, it can be frightening, but in my experience it has never been bad. In 9 days I will be leaving China where I have lived and worked with my husband for the past 10 months... We have had some unbelievable ups and downs here: related to work, environment, culture, people,…the differences in, the lack of, the too much of, the randomness of,…a journey in all aspects of life.

 In the end this has been an experience I will never forget nor regret and one that constantly reminds me that taking risks, heading out of my comforts and exploring is what keeps me on my toes and keeps life invigorating. Now, it’s time to once again step out of my comforts that I have developed here in China and head back home to Vancouver. Going home may sound simple and easy to most...

I know Vancouver will be different, because I am different. I have learned more about the simple life, about waste, about togetherness, about what I need and what I do not need (both in material goods, physically, spiritually, and mentally). I am overjoyed to see the old (apartment, friends, sports, family, environment, landscapes) and the new (job, new people, new landscapes that I never noticed before, new sports,...) and am nervous and a little scared of the unknowns (job, money, will I fit back into my old life, will I be able to really become what I hope to...).

I want to return ready to attack the next chapter of my life. It is without lies that I can say I have no idea how long this chapter will be or what exactly it will look like or where I(and Andrew) will end up but I am ready...BRING IT ON! I do know I have an amazing husband that I love, a supportive family, good friends, good health, and an internal drive to keep improving, to keep exploring, and to keep on living life to its fullest potential.


Whatever comes my way I am ready to receive it with strong arms and an open mind. Eventually our time in China will seem like a faint memory in the memory bank of many memories but I know the experiences will have a lasting effect on my journey through life. 

Live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina

Chengdu Panda Hash House Harriers Run....

Not sure what I am doing here?

This past weekend was our second to last weekend left in China. We had joined the Chengdu Panda Hash Run once before in December and loved it. We had hoped to make it over a couple more times but as life and schedules would have it we only managed to make it out one last time. It happened to be their annual away run. Luckily they let us out of towners join in. After a crazy Friday afternoon at Maple Leaf (I put on the 2nd annual Chongqing Maple Leaf Riot.... the school gathers and plays silly games against different families, people get dirty, people get wet, and people are generally a little crazy...) we hoped on the 5pm bus to Chengdu. We stayed at our regular chosen spot of Traffic Inn Hostel. P.S. This is one of my favorite hostels in China. We enjoyed some cold beverages and a yummy breakfast at the hostel before we headed out to meet the gang at the regular meeting spot. The bus ride was tame and long (3hours ish) but eventually we made it to Zitong. A scenic park/hotel/getaway chinese style. It was in the hills, surrounded by forest and tons of trails. Upon our arrival, we checked in and joined up for lunch. This is where we began drinking SNOW and didn't really finish until we arrived to the east train station sunday evening... The lunch was very chinese with some cold and hot dishes. After some time for digestion we met for our first run. Lucky us it also started to rain. The run was really fun, I haven't run in such slick, sticky, deep mud in a long time,... I kept choosing the wrong way and having to back track and catch up with the front runners. I was laughing the entire time... The run was about 1.5 hours but dind't feel long at all... hashes are fun for that... searching for trails, finding the wrong trails, running with others, running on different terrain, bushwacking sometimes, climbing, descending.... no time to get bored.. makes me so excited to get back to trails in BC.... yipee! We ran from the hotel to dinner. Dinner was at an organic farm house. We had the place to ourselves and they made some really delicious food. I even ate some of the meat:). We continued the gatherings back at the hotel but all the traveling and hecticness of the last couple of days left me dreary and tired. Eventually it was all I could do to keep my eyes open... time for bed...

Look I found flour and am concerned with the upcoming climb

False trail

leading the way

enjoying a wet drink

washing line

We had a nice lie in, and breakfast at the hotel before our second run. The second run proved to be shorter, less muddy, and a little easier trails. The views were supposedly spectacular but we got lucky with heavy fog and managed to barely see the person next to us. Following the run we enjoyed more beverages through to lunch, on the bus ride and to the train station. Andrew and I managed to swing some hard sleeper tickets for the night train to YC. We made it home in the wee early hours of morning: enough time for a couple more hours of sleep before it was time for work. A solid weekend, with great people, fun runs, and delicious food.

tombs

cheers

the chengdu panda hashers

Live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina

YC livin'

Andrew made a sweet little video: A Day in The Life in YC... enjoy!


A Day in The Life (in Yongchuan) from Andrew Dye on Vimeo.


This weekend there was little in the way of epic adventures... we had graduation ceremony at school,  city fun with some friends, a local bike ride up cucumber mountain, a run in the muddy trails behind the fairy statue, and some well needed yoga.... two weekends left until we are back in Vancouver... taking it all in until the end...

live, love, laugh,..DREAM!
lina

Walking the streets of Shanghai

I had found cheap flights to Shanghai through elong awhile back so we decided to take the plunge and head out to the east coast of China to check out the big city. I am not much of a city goer but couldn't pass up the opportunity to check out one of the main cities in China after living here for a year. We had finished all of our scheduled marathons, and luckily my body was pretty tired and in need of a rest (I never really gave myself recovery time after the Great Wall Marathon and I think it all caught up to me).

Our traveling arrangements worked out as planned with no real glitches. For us a day and a half was enough time to get the feel of the city. We stayed at the Mingtown International Youth Hiker Hostel, which was in walking walking distance to just about everything! Nice. We did our own walking tour of The Bund, Old Town, French Concession, People's Park, Nanjing Street, and other small attractions. We did manage to find the opening of a photography festival Rankin, which included a live cover band and cool display of photos. We also managed to a cool little alleyway we read about a onflight magazine. We spent the afternoon on a mission to find this little gem that reminded me a little of home in east vancouver. Andrew posted some pics on flickr... 

Sunday morning we did go for a little run along a small river which gave me the endorphins I needed to last me until more physical activity could be exerted upon arriving back in YC:)

less than a month to go...

live, love,laugh,...DREAM!
lina