I am obsessed with My Life List. I first read about a "life list" in a Chicken Soup for the Soul book when I was nine years old. The next minute, I had a piece of paper out and I wrote down my very first life list with only five things on it:
1.Own a horse (that has since been taken off!)
2. Go to London
3. Climb the Eiffel Tower
4. See the Sphinx and Pyramids
5. Climb the Great Wall of China
Sadly, I do not know what happened to that original list--since then it has gone through many transformations and I have gone from just five items on the list to 265 items (as of 6/17/14). I have completed exactly 100 things on this list (I just realized that now and I am super excited... I feel like I need to have a Bucket List party!) and I managed to complete nine things in the first 10 months of living in China.
Before coming over to China, I made up a China Bucket List--I took the things from My Life List that I thought I could complete while living in China (you can see it in a post I wrote back in August, right here!)... some of the things I actually managed to complete were on that China edition of the bucket list and some of them were not! Some I never thought I would be able to accomplish in China... So here is a look at the nine things I was able to do in China. I've included the number it is on My Life List, what it is, the date (if I wrote it down), a story behind it, and some photos if they were taken. Enjoy! It was so much fun to relive each of these exciting moments--the moment I get to cross something off My Life List!
#158: Try
durian
October 2,
2013
Durian is
just one of those things that you cannot avoid when you come to visit China,
whether it is just for a few weeks or over a year. A spikey green/yellow fruit,
it looks similar to all the other bizarre looking fruit in the markets
(seriously, have you seen dragon fruit?). Like so many things in life, looks
can be deceiving… But in this case, something that looks that crazy, tastes and
smells just as equally crazy.
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| This fruit is a sign that God has a sick sense of humor... one that I am not too fond of... |
For those
of you who have heard tales of durian’s infamy (I first heard about it on Bizarre
Foods with Andrew Zimmern) or those who have been able to witness it firsthand
know that durian has a very distinct look, taste, and especially smell. It was
the one food that Andrew Zimmern could not swallow (literally) and it is one of
the “must have” foods if you are living in China (the other being stinky tofu…
something I have not tried yet). With so much stigma surrounding this one piece
of fruit, you can be darn sure that it was put on My Life List long ago and
when I saw the opportunity to cross it off, I took it!
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| Andrew Zimmern with the infamous little fruit that even HE doesn't like! |
It was my
first big holiday in China—National Holiday—and it was my first big trip (first
of many) around China—Qingdao, Dalian, and Dandong. I traveled with both the
Adams and our first stop was the beer capital of China, Qingdao (where Tsingtao
beer is from). We were in Qingdao for three days and it was on the final day
that we found a man selling some durian slices on the street. I paid my 10元
and unwrapped the two slices (now I know why they wrap it all the time!).
I smelled
it (first big mistake).
I ate it
(second big mistake).
I hated it.
I’ve heard
people describe the smell/taste to be a mixture of rotten onions and
turpentine. To me, it tasted like rotten eggs and regret.
After I
gagged for a few seconds and after a beer in a bag (a Qingdao specialty), I was
able to laugh about it, cross it off the bucket list, and smile knowing that I
had passed through some bizarre initiation that all foreigners must go through…
now to find a clueless newcomer to enact my revenge…
#187: Kiss
in the rain
Sadly, I
cannot put an exact date to this one, nor do I have any photos of it and that
is okay.
For anyone
who loves movies like Breakfast at Tiffany’s or watches any dramas from Korea
or Taiwan, I’m sure you love a good kiss in the rain scene as much as I do! I’m
not sure how old I was when I put this one on my List and I wasn’t sure if I
would ever be able to accomplish it (with my history…) but a girl
could always dream. When Adam and I were first getting to know each other, we
got to talking about My Life List and he read through it… he must have spotted
#187 because he waited a week between our first date and our first kiss—it
turns out he was waiting for it to rain! Trust me when I say, it is better than
the movies… Just make sure you shower right away so the acid rain doesn’t eat
through your clothes and onto your skin!
#201: Go to
the “fish doctor”
January 9,
2014
The very
first thing to be crossed off from My Life List in 2014 was also the first
thing crossed off during my Spring Festival trip with Hannah. Our first stop on our month long journey all
around Asia (China, Hong Kong, Nepal, and Malaysia) was the breathtakingly
beautiful Yangshuo. Nestled along the shores of the Li River, winding
pedestrian only streets weave through cafés, restaurants, hostels, and quaint
little shops. It is like a storybook village nestled in a faerie land
surrounded by sleeping giants. I have gone on and on about the natural beauty
that is Yangshuo in a previous post that you can read over here!
The place is seriously one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to!
While we were wandering around, still bouncing with excitement over the fact that our amazing adventure was just beginning, we spotted one of the many “fish kissing” spas. Also known as the “fish doctor” or just a fish spa, you pay 15元 (about $2.50) for 30 minutes before you put your bare feet into warm water just filled with little brown fish. Immediately, they jump on your feet, nibbling away at all the dead skin on your feet. It tickled and then it hurt a little bit and then a fish would swim between my toes and I would start laughing and screaming again. This is one of those crazy, cooky things that you see everywhere in China and other parts of Asia but seem so exotic and different to Americans… and it is these sorts of things that I just love about living in China!
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| I thought I had lost these photos when my iPhone got stolen... These are never before seen!! |
Of course,
since then, I have learned that these fish spas might not be the safest thing
to do. I’ve read online and I’ve been informed by multiple friends that
different diseases have been spread through the kissing fish spas… However, I
am perfectly fine. I would still recommend it if you are ever in Asia
somewhere.
#233:
Cruise down the Li River
January 12,
2014
Whenever I
was a young girl and thought of China, I always thought of the natural side of
the country, not the pollution or crowds or big cities (though they certainly
exist!). I imagined tall, looming, shear dropping cliffs and winding rivers
with bamboo boats… I didn’t know it, but I was imagining the mountains of
Yangshuo and the Li River.
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| Location of the 20元 painting along the Li River! |
Upon
arriving in Yangshuo, I had no clue that it was right along the Li River. I
thought that someday I would need to make a special trip to the south of China
in order to accomplish this goal. Needless to say I was thrilled when I learned
that I was staring at and walking along the Li River.
My
happiness quickly evaporated each time someone came up to us and asked,
“Bamboo?” trying to lure us into taking an overpriced bamboo boat ride down the
Li River. I was quickly coming to dislike the Li River and that did not make me
happy—this was a place that I had imagined since I was a child and I was not
going to allow a band of old women trying to make some money off of the
tourists ruin it for me!
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| Hannah caught my disdain for the bamboo ladies on camera... |
We hiked
for about 5 hours throughout the day, following the river and trying to dodge
the old ladies that would call out to us or just start following us (seriously,
there was one woman who literally ran after us for over an hour). In the end,
we ended up having to hop into one of the bamboo boats anyway because the
hiking path ended (luckily this time, Hannah did not crash into the Yulong
river and smash her face up). I had wanted to ride in a boat along the Li
River, but I did not want to be bombarded and bullied into it.
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| Our stalker... We began to call her Gollum after about an hour... |
#52: See the Largest Seated Buddha
January 16,
2014
This was
something that was nearly 10 years in the making for me. In 2005, Travel
Channel aired a show called “5 Takes: Pacific Rim” where five photo journalists
traveled all throughout the Pacific Rim and simply documented their adventures
(as if that is not a dream job for all of us!). While they were in Hong Kong, I
remember some of the members of the show went to see the world’s largest seated
outdoor bronze Buddha (what a title!) and instantly, it was put on my bucket
list at the age of 15.
Tian Tan,
as it is officially called, is seated peacefully and silently on the top of a
mountain, surrounded by forests, and looking out over the ocean. I have always
said that my “heaven on Earth” has to be either up in the mountains, hidden in
the woods, or along the seashore, so Tian Tan was like a sanctuary to me. Yes,
it is the world’s largest seated Buddha but it is so much bigger than I
imagined it to be! You see it in the distance and it just keeps growing in size
and magnificence as you climb the 286 steps to the top.
You have
tourists, adventurers, photographers, monks, and believers all climbing up and
making the same journey together. It was so surreal to watch the monks and pilgrims
bowing and praying at the base of the statue, the eyes of the Buddha silently
staring down at them.
There is
something that I just love when visiting pilgrim destinations or religious
sites—there is always a sense of respect from everyone present, whether you are a
believer or not. Yes, it was crowded at the top of the mountain and people were
huffing and puffing their way up the mountain but the minute their eyes meet
the partially opened eyes of the Buddha and the sun is shining down on them and
the wind blows through their hair, there is a sense of wonder and peace. No one
shouts or laughs or runs; everyone is whispering or (better yet) completely
silent and just looking out over the natural world surrounding them… It was a
wonderful breath of fresh air and a moment to relax before returning to the
chaos that is China.
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#3: Stand
in the Indian Ocean
February 9,
2014
The first
four things I ever put on my bucket list (after the first edition of only five
things which I made when I was nine) was to stand in the Atlantic, Pacific,
Indian, and Arctic oceans. As a nine year old, I had no idea that my life would
take the route that I am currently on and I didn’t know if these goals were at
all plausible. The Atlantic was very close to me—just a drive across the state.
The Pacific was a bit farther, but still, just across the country. I managed to
do both of them before I was 13 years old. The Indian ocean, I wasn’t too sure
until I knew I was coming to live in China… then I just knew, I had to get to
the south somewhere and find the coast.
I ended up
meeting that goal while visiting the island of Langkawi in Malaysia during Spring Festival.
There isn’t
too much to say about it—it was warm, wet, and blue. I was not a fan of
Malaysia and I am never too thrilled to be at a beach… However, being in
Malaysia and at a beach allowed me to cross off one of the very first things I
ever put on my List… Now to figure out how I’m going to stand in the Arctic
ocean…
#181: Live
in another country (China)
February
28, 2014
Now most
people over here in China who had read my bucket list were surprised that I had
“Live in another country” on the list but had not crossed off yet. Yes, I was living in
another country but technically it hadn’t been the first time. What do I mean
by living in another country? Not just visiting for a week. I have to figure
out the layout of the city I’m living in, work out transportation, go grocery
shopping, go to the bank but hopefully never the doctor. I had lived in Sweden
for a summer back in 2010 and that was my first taste of living on my own and
taking care of myself (no dining hall?!?!) but that was only for a summer and I
was with a study abroad program that would hold my hand for most things. Don’t
get me wrong! I LOVED living in Sweden and I would go back in a heartbeat but I
never really thought of it as actually living in another country on my own.
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| Look! A blonde Amanda! |
Now I won’t
go into a full on rant about what it is like to not only live in another
country but a country as bizarre, chaotic, and aggravating as China—I am
already working on a post… a sort of “Year in Review” which you can look
forward to in the coming weeks. You’ve been warned…
#139: Make
my own Buffalo wings and eat them
March 1,
2014
I am a Buffalo gal… there is no doubt about it. I grew up drinking nothing but
Loganberry soda at my grandmother’s house. Sponge candy still makes me way too happy. And I consider myself to be a wing connoisseur. Usually, anywhere that
I travel to, I like to try their “Buffalo style” wings just to see how they
really compare (yes I may or may not be a wing snob). In Buffalo, we have two
main places to get wings—the Anchor Bar or Duff’s. Now we all know that the
Anchor Bar may have originated the wing but Duff’s perfected it. I love wings.
I can eat my weight in them… and then keep eating.
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VS
I’m not
sure when I decided to put this on My Life List but the minute that Adam saw it
on my List, he made it a reality.
For my
birthday, I could have chosen to do anything—travel up to Shanghai, go to West
Lake, eat at a really fancy restaurant, or stay at home and make wings. Adam
got all the materials—wings and Frank’s hot sauce. That’s it. That’s all I
need.
We battled with the spitting peanut oil. We laughed. We danced to Elvis, the Beatles, and the Who. We nibbled on cheese. We mashed some potatoes. We doused the fried wings in hot sauce. We gorged on wings, mashed potatoes, and watched Harry Potter. Perfection.
#160: Make pottery
June 11,
2014
This was
another random thing I put on My Life List years ago and I cannot remember when
or why I did so. I do that on purpose: some things on my list are huge and monumental
things that I’m not sure if I can ever accomplish (#17: Hike to Everest base camp)
and others are pretty mundane (#151: Learn how to change a tire). Some I specifically
remember when or why I added it to the List and, others, I’m not too sure.
I’ve always
enjoyed going to historical parks or Renn Faires and watching the pottery (I’m
always impressed by what people can do with their hands… and it makes me feel
slightly inadequate). I’ve never seen “Ghost” but that pottery scene does sound
pretty sexy. Seriously, I don’t know! I just love getting my hands dirty and I
love creating things… even though I’m not good at art at all (I’ve attempted
painting and drawing so many times in the hopes of being good).
While the
Big Four was just wandering through downtown Hangzhou, DH led us to a pottery
store filled with cups and plates and a little classroom! For just 98元
you get a lesson, a ball of clay,
paint, enough time to create whatever you want, and a kiln to fire it up!
So the
artistic-less ones dug our hands into the clay and we attempted to make
something beautiful!
DH
attempted a cup at first (something that I had thought of making too at first).
He struggled. Long and hard. I actually thought what he had created kind of
resembled a cup but eventually he ended up giving up and joined the rest of the
class in making plates.
Adam and I
had decided to make couples plates for each other (we try not to act like an
obnoxious couple but sometimes we just can’t resist… and I would like to point
out that it was Adam’s idea to make couples plates, not mine!). We set to work,
trying desperately to copy what the teacher had just shown us… I think Adam
remembered a bit better because my plate
ended up coming out kind of lopsided and the edges were all kind of nasty… Oh
well! I know that I’m not artistic and I fully embrace it!
After painting them, we handing our little creations to the teacher only to find out that we have to come back in three weeks to pick them up. Three weeks! Poor DH won’t even be in the country anymore… Hopefully we’ll be able to retrieve our plates and forever remember our challenging but enjoyable day… oh so enjoyable!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
And there you have it!! That is my 2013-2014 Life List review (yes, I know that I have the summer still and I imagine I'll be able to do a few things over the next few months but I wanted to look at the school year and what I was able to accomplish in the last 10 months). It's been fun, wild, and crazy. I managed to make my way to China (Hangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Qingdao, Dalian, Dandong, Yangshuo, ZhangJiaJie, Changsha), North Korea, Hong Kong, Nepal, and Malaysia thus far... so many more places to go!
It's been neat meeting a whole new group of people and hearing what they have to say about My Life List. I never know if people get tired of me saying, "Oh that's on my bucket list!" but my List always seems to make people smile. My hope is to inspire others to write down their goals, hopes, and dreams and read through that list often... and then make their dreams a reality! I'm always growing and evolving and changing, just like my life and just like my bucket list; it pushes me to suck the marrow out of every moment in life. It is such an important and vital aspect of who I am as a person, I even won an award for it this year!!
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