Day 6:

Grey and rainy.  I had a dream last night that I was with this giant snake and I had to command it to hold together some boards so I could cross the water.  The snake was slithering wildly around the boards and then it slid up through my jacket and out by my collar. I was coming unhinged until I realized that the snake wouldn't listen to me until I got control of myself.

Unfortunately, I can not recall if I was successful. I'm not sure if I was supposed to make my command in English or Parseltongue.  And I'm still very much in alignment with Indiana Jones on everything that has to do with this subject.

I guess that's why I woke up thinking about China. Because it's a very snakey place... snakes in the wine... snakes at the food stands... snakes in cages at restaurants... snakes writhing in trees at creepy tourist attractions....

It just so happens that I was all set for a virtual trip back since I'd retrieved my travel journal from the depths of the closet a few weeks ago. At that time, Ali was interested in reading about how she found the condoms and "sex joy oil" on the nightstand in our hotel in Yangshuo and her uncle told her they were playing cards that would have to be paid for if we opened them.

I'm not a particularly easy traveler, especially when it involves children and a large group of relatives, which is pretty much how the Chinn side of the family does it. As evidence, I found a note in miniscule handwriting up the side of my journal on Day 7 that says that I had called work that morning with the excuse that I needed to check in, but I really just needed to hear a voice that would somehow acknowledge that one day I would get back home.  China was not an easy trip.

But without some of the difficulty that's easily forgotten, the moments of pure splendor probably wouldn't shine like they still do in my mind. Standing in the garrison on the great wall high above the other tourists wondering what it was like...  watching the back streets of Guilin come alive on a solo early morning ride on my pink rental bike... picking tea leaves on the slopes of the stunning mountains above Hangzhou... and a striking and irreplaceable day of ceremony and unspoken connections in the family village.

China was a continuous riot of enthralling sensations that tested me to think and see in new ways. And it tested my patience too. Today it was nice to remember the tiny moments that made us all smile and laugh at the time.  And to smile again.