Mask and Earplugs

All my life I have been a very light sleeper. The smallest noise or light would wake me up instantly. I usually sleep with a fan on and that helps drown out the smaller noises that would usually wake me. Last year one of the girls on our team teaching here in China- Janella, would bring her eye mask and ear plugs on every trip we went on. I honestly thought it was silly but still marvelled at how well she slept amidst the bright lights on the train and the people talking rather loudly, no matter what hour. She would wake up and feel so refreshed while I sat there frustrated that the joint between the cars kept me awake ALL night. The first time I saw her use them I seriously doubted they could be so helpful in drowning out the noise, and I thought it would be very annoying to sleep with something strapped to my head. But after endless nights and trips of watching her wake up so rested, I had to try it. So last summer while were were back in the states I stopped by good 'ol Wal-Mart and got me a "sleep pretty in pink" mask and ear plugs. I may look silly when I sleep but I have sleep on more trips and more nights than I ever would had I not given in to my suspicions and tried those silly things. Planes, trains, hostels and even in some hotel rooms I put the mask on, shove those little things in my ears and I almost sleep as well as Curtis does each night.

During the Lunar New Year here in China, fire crackers go off from 6 in the morning (when the sun comes up) till a couple hours after mid-night on the days surrounding the festival. The majority of these fire crackers are strictly for the noise. There is lights or colored fire that shoots up into the air, no - just loud continuous bangs, one right after another. I wish everyone could see and experience this, annoying as it is sometimes, it truly is amazing. The things they set off are sometimes so huge it scares me to walk by them. They really know how to bring in the new year here in China. And even though my ear plugs can block out all of the bangs, at least they make them softer so I eventually drift off to sleep...

Packing....

I try to live a simplistic lifestyle and for the most part I feel like I do a good job. However when I pack to go on a trip I realize how very non-simplistic I am....IF I packed everything I usually use in one day I would take 2 suite cases and would travel comfortably...That's how we packed last winter for Holiday break. And if you asked me, Curtis or Josh about our packing abilities for that trip we would all tell you we are HORRIBLE packers. Living in China calls for a different style of packing since most of the transportation takes place in tiny cabs, crowded train stations or buses and subways packed to the door with people. We have seen people squeeze onto buses and subways when we thought there was no more room for ANYONE. So carrying two suite cases while traveling in China just isn't possible, if you want to enjoy your vacation.

For this trip Curtis and I are each going to take a backpack. I am taking my backpacking backpack and Curtis is taking his new rather large backpack. We were able to get plane tickets at a cheaper price than train tickets to Xi'an so we will check my backpack once at the airport. I think we did a good job of packing for this trip. Thank goodness its only 5 days. After this trip we are headed to the north, so this will be a good trial at how well we survive on so little. We are only bringing extra pairs of underwear, socks and one other shirt, plus pj's. We might be stinky but at least the backpacks will be light!!!

But back to my simplicity packing. I usually start a day before the trip (if its a short one). Curtis (who only takes 7 mintues to pack) always jokes with me that I should start a week before. This is because I go through about 5 rounds of packing. The first time is in my head. I think about the days and what we could possibly do and all the things I should bring for those possibilities. Then I actually start laying clothes out on the bed, only to realize how much I like most of the clothes in my closet and would feel bad if I left some of them behind, so I throw those in with the already preplanned clothes. Then i stuff it all into my bag and realize its WAY to much...so I take it all out and go through it again. 4 piles - definitely going to take, definitely not going to take, take if there is enough room, and don't take if there isn't enough room. Anyways this process going on for awhile. Then I sleep on it, thinking about my choices while falling asleep and usually while I'm lying in bed trying to wake up. During the sleeping process my mind usually changes drastically and i switch a lot of things out. Then I leave it and go do other things. Come back and so on and so forth. Usually the clothes I think about in the very first step end up being the ones I take. But I can't help myself in going through the other 24 hours of the process. And you would think, with all of the traveling I do it would be really easy to pack. Well now that you've seen into my mind a little, you understand the complexity of packing...

I'll let you know how the choices turned out....Off to Beijing now!!

Now and Then

For the past few months I have been trying to live each day as it comes. To live in the moment, live in that day. Its all been fine and dandy but I realized that I have not motivation. No motivation because I don't think about the future. I don't think about what could come. At first I think I was under the assumption that I shouldn't think about the future because I am not promised the future. But that's not it, in fact if I live my life like that it can get dull and you kind of lose hope. No we aren't promised the future but we can think, dream and plan for the future. We are just not suppose to worry about the future. I have learned not to worry about the future, but while I was learning how to not worry I stopped dreaming and planning for the future. No wonder I have been so down and unmotivated. Basically what I'm trying to say is- we are not suppose to worry about the future, we are suppose to live in the moment because we are not promised tomorrow, but that doesn't mean we can't think about tomorrow, dream about the future and plan for great things that will come.