In 2015, I competed in 4 jiujitsu competitions, took the Amtrak train across Colorado to go hiking with my aunt in Moab, watched rom-coms with Becky in New York City, experienced the debauchery of Las Vegas, visited Nanjing three (!) times, took a 41-hour train across China, trained jiujitsu with my best friend in Thailand, hitchhiked across the Chinese border with Kirghiz truckers, got put on house-arrest after attending a friend’s wedding, visited the ancient Buddhist grottoes in Kucha, fell in love, fell out of love, got kicked out of a hotel, drank wine and star-gazed with friends on the roof of my 18-story apartment building, got kicked off of said roof, cycled along the Karakoram Highway to the Chinese-Pakistani border, went hiking with sheep herders in the Tianshan mountains, stayed in a homestay in Osh, Kirghizstan, listened to over 100 hours of audio-books and podcasts, became conversationally proficient in Uyghur, partied until dawn broke and got lost walking home in the morning light, went dancing at Uyghur clubs and weddings, fainted in the middle of a restaurant, wore a headscarf and got mistaken for being Uzbek (multiple occasions), shared many laughs, tears, and my heart with dear friends, went biking through the mountains of the suburbs of Urumchi, taught jiujitsu, kicked the shit out of said jiujitsu students, (kind of) learned how to kickbox, got the shit kicked out of me by multiple 14-year old girls during sparring on multiple occasions, watched the sunset over Urumchi, traveled by bus and train along the southern Silk Road across the Teklimakan desert, wandered the “old” city of Kashgar discussing love and life with Kay, presented my research in Chicago, felt incredible gratitude laughing with my cousins, aunts, and uncles in Arizona over Thanksgiving dinner, bonded with my sister over Christmas in North Carolina, saw Hunger Games with my dad, and found out that hospital beds are really comfortable when you’re cuddling with your mom.
It’s been a hell of a year. Bring it on, 2016!
Sarah, your 2015 sounds like it was full of adventure. It's great to know that you're doing cool stuff. Chris Wong and I recently met up for the first time since we were all a part of OAS at GW. We talked a lot about our organization and reminisced about the events we hosted. It was a lot of fun. Take care.
ReplyDeleteDevin
Haha, awesome!! That sounds like fun. I hope you are doing well.
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