March Madness?

It’s been a crazy March that has nothing to do with March Madness, but crazier than March Madness.

I know it has been a long time since the last time I blogged. I was telling myself last semester that I could definitely keep blogging at least every week but it turned out not working at all for this semester. It is not because I am having a worse or not-worth-blogging life compared to the last semester. But on the contrary, I am having a great time, great than ever. I would love to blog everything post by post but I failed to do so. Therefore, here is all.

Spring Break

Washington DC Roadtrip

I never thought I could visit DC twice in three months. But here am I, the second time. What different is that I came with makenew folks, which I enjoyed a lot. I had a wried feeling that DC is very familiar to me even more than Beijing. I remember every street I have been to and every artifact in the museum that I have stopped by. Or just because I never visit a place twice within such a short period of time. However, this feeling is amazing partly because you start to appreciate things in the city rather than being surprised by new things. I could tell that I do love the city, the vibe and the history even though it’s short. I have a theory: 500 years is long that 5000 years. Why? Because you share a common perception of things 500 years ago but not for 5000 years’ since they were too old to understand and relate. This is how I feel about my city Xi’an, the most ancient city in China, and DC.

Two trips together, I have almost visited all the signature museums around National Mall. Frankly, there is no single piece of art or document that is unforgettable to me, but the general feeling is.

For this trip, I enjoyed sitting in a micro dining room with friends while having not spicy ramen that kept me having a runny nose. It was super fun while carrying Daniel on my back in front of the monument. And I can’t stop laughing at myself that asking Sid to go American Indian Museum together, which has become a joke being told by friends over and over again. Also, making completely nonsense sentences in Nathan’s car with one word per person made me laugh for literally four hours. Most importantly, now I have the experience of sleeping with 10+ people on the ground of an Airbnb house.

Also I mostly appreciate the time and commitment that makenew people devoted to this trip. I cannot even have a safe plan for four people last time here while they are organizing a trip for 30 people. Relate to what Tim said, I think they are great great testimony of Jesus.

Asheville

The first, in the true sense, road trip I have ever had. American nature views are so different compared to China’s. There is an unspeakable difference between them. American mountains are more lively in my opinion while China’s are more awe-inspiring.

The most memorable things: millions of times of Country Road, Take Me Home; Mr. Chou(ugly in Chinese) Diego; 4 hours of walking and almost climbing to see the fantastic overlook of the entire valley since our car couldn’t pass by the annoying bumps; jumping into 50F river and screaming and losing my glasses. I can’t be happier than all the above things brought to me.

Also an unremarkable but heartwarming scene: A father and 5-year-old boy sitting next to us while watching a mediocre sunset on a mediocre hill. I saw the father and boy interacting with each other in a so sweet way. I am envious of that and just can’t help thinking about what kind of father would I become and imagining all unrealistic family things. Unrealistic but exceedingly desirable.

Alllso, my birthday. I am so happy that I could celebrate all my birthdays during the break for at least the next 3 years of my life. This is the first birthday I had out of home, which is also the most appreciable birthday I had. I appreciate Mattew’s professional birthday songs and Andy and Min and Jordan’s unprofessional birthday songs. I felt far close to home while far away from home.

Birthday

Yes, birthday again. I didn’t expect I would have another birthday on the following day we went back to Durham. I was surprised, moved and grateful. I wish there are words better than “thank you” to say to all the makenew folks.

Plus I bought myself a gift. A newly released LEGO F1 car. I am not a fan of LEGO but a fan of F1. I enjoyed the process of building it. But this is probably the last LEGO I would purchase since it is so expensive haha. But this one is definitely worth it considering the additional value of emotional attachment.