They were five strangers picked to spend an entire day getting to know each other. Five different personalities from five different backgrounds. And by the end of their long day of confessions and experiences, they were bonded forever.
This isn’t just the plot of The Breakfast Club, that also exactly what happened to me in China.
Five writers picked to go on this amazing adventure. None of us had really met before – only in passing and a few words spoken, if even that. Yet, one vacation later, we are bonded in a way that we’ll never be able to truly explain.
My stomach hurt often from laughing so hard with these women. From the long bus rides of stories we shared, to the grabbing on to each other for dear life while walking down dark Chinese alleys at 10 pm, we never stopped looking out for each other.
And on the last day, when we raised our glasses at our last meal together, we didn’t toast the adventure. We didn’t toast all the things we saw. We toasted to “family.” Because that’s what we became.
I saw such amazing things in China. Tea fields, temples, views from the top of Shanghai, acrobats, hikes that caused me to question my ability to move, foods that I never knew existed, gardens that make you breath lighter. I had an opportunity to do Tai Chi with actual Tai Chi masters. To create pottery with a woman who can create magical art with her hands. And to make and enjoy way too many dumplings.
And as much as I’ll take those things with me in life, it’s not any of those that will be my greatest memory.
My greatest memory is the people. The guides that nurtured us, the people who took care of us, and most importantly, the five women who became my family.
When I left on this trip, I wondered if I would find a peace from the chaos of my life. The stress of writing a book, the balance of work and family, the feeling that I was trying to juggle too much. Would I be able to truly unplug and breath in this experience wholly? What would I learn?
I’ll tell you what I learned.
Yes, you can unplug. When the places you go to have no internet. When you have no phone that works. You have no choice but to stop, focus on the people around you and live completely in the moment.
And I’m so grateful I did. Because that’s how I got to know the people.
And as for finding peace from the chaos of my life. I realized that I actually love the chaos. That I thrive on it. That it’s okay to juggling things, and it’s even okay to drop a few balls from time to time. It’s all part of the journey.
So as I wrap up this amazing trip to China with Mandarin Journeys, I want to say this.
Seize the moment. Don’t put off that trip you dream about taking “someday.” Don’t wait for perfect moments. Don’t go into experiences with everything perfectly laid out. Because the most incredible part of this trip was that everything was unknown. Every person, every moment, was unexpected.
And in the end, I walked away with much more than just memories and experiences. I walked away with Vera, Sue, Diana and Dana – I walked away with family.
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