A Day in the Life....

There is a routine that Ann and I go through on a daily basis. Of course we meet different people and each town has its own flair. For example, today we stopped at a convenience store in a small village that, unbeknownst to us, had a school in the back. As we waited for water to boil for our coffee, a few children came out to see the Weigoren (foreigner) in the shop. One more

child came out of the back. Then a few more came out. Before we knew it, our table was surrounded by close to 30 children, all asking me questions, handing me papers with Chinese writing on them, or simply standing and staring at me. It’s possible (and probable, judging by the way they were acting) that I was the first foreigner many of these children had ever seen.We spent the next 20 minutes reading the kids’ questions, writing answers, and talking to the children about what we’re doing. It was a precious, unexpected moment in the day that I will cherish for a long time. This is one sweet little example of the morsels of fun and spontaneity that we’ve been fed along our way. But there is also a cycle and a rhythm to each day. Here is a typical day in the life of Polkahontas and Annimal.

7:30 Annimal wakes up, fills up and turns on the electric kettle to boil water, and gently tells me that it’s 7:30, then begins packing her trailer. I turn over, nuzzle deeper into my sleeping bag, and return to my dream about being a robot bird.

7:48 I finally decide to face the cold and climb out of my sleeping bag. Ann pours hot water into my camp mug and stirs me a cup of instant coffee. I try to convince myself that Chinese squat toilets are not the worst. I splash cold water on my face, look in the mirror, and tell myself I’ve never looked better.

8:05 As we pack our bags and sip our awful instant coffee, I say good night to my family in America over Skype chat. Love you, mommy.

8:30 We struggle Annimal’s trailer down the stairs of our hostel to check out.

8:35 We find a restaurant or a street vendor that sells labufan (steamed cloth-like noodles with egg) or baozi (little bread pillows from heaven, filled with meat, vegetables, or (my favorite) sweet red bean paste) and eat a quick breakfast before hitting the road.

8:47 We begin walking (sometimes with volunteers), taking 5 minutes to stretch, receiving funny looks from passersby the whole time.

8:52 I hit ‘play’ on my ipod and check out into the world of Jake and Amir on the podcast titled ‘If I Were You’ (if you like to laugh until you pee yourself a little bit and you aren’t offended by the f-word (which it appears some of you really are… I’m terribly sorry if I’ve offended you. In fact, I’d like to take a second to assure you that I will take future steps to fit the image of the docile, innocent girl one apparently ‘should’ be while doing a charity walk. My first step is to censor my voice and my writings by substituting any future f-bombs with the least controversial word I can think of……….. fart. I value you as a reader very much, and I’d hate to turn any of you off to this epic adventure with my mother-farting potty mouth), I would highly suggest listening to this podcast.

9:32 I ask Annimal how far we have gone and how far we have left to go.

10:33 Annimal and I stop for a snack and a bathroom break at a convenience store. We snack on fruit, nuts, Snickers bars, and strange cracker things that taste terrible. Annimal explains to the group of people gathered around us what we are doing and answers questions about the Weigoren she brought with her. I try to convince myself that Chinese squat toilets aren’t THE WORST.

10:35 I ask Annimal how far we have gone and how far we have left to go.

10:47 We keep walking. I hit ‘play’ and check out into the world of ‘Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me’, NPR’s least boring show and the only entertaining way to inject awful American news stories into my brain. If you like to laugh until you have tears in your eyes and you ARE offended by the f-word, I would highly recommend this podcast.

11:23 I ask Annimal how far we have gone, and how far we have left to go.

12:20 Annimal and I stop for a cold lunch, snacking on more fruit, nuts, chocolate and weird cracker things.

12:54 We keep walking. I hit ‘play’ and check out to the sweet, sweet melody of Guy Roz’s voice interviewing some of the most brilliant minds of our time about their latest projects and findings.

2:37 We take a bathroom break at a convenience store. Annimal explains what we are doing to the group of people who have gathered around us. She answers their multitude of questions about the Weigoren she brought with her. I play with the shopkeeper’s children for a few minutes, then I follow directions to the bathroom, soon realizing that their ‘bathroom’ is just a hole dug in the ground with two 2x4s as foot-holds, all within a brick structure that has no doors. I wish for a Chinese squat toilet.

2:48 We keep walking. I’ve run out of downloaded podcasts and resort to learning the ways of effective negotiation via audiobook, imagining different scenarios that will call for learned skills once I become president of the Navajo Nation (“Barack…can I call you Barack?...No? Ok. Mr. President, I know it may not seem like you’re filling an immediate need by using American tax dollars to supply the Navajo Nation with unlimited ice cream cones, but let’s look at the facts.

1. I like ice cream

2. I’m the Chief” )

2:49 I ask Annimal how far we have to go, and whether or not she wants a piece of chocolate (a peace offering for bugging the fart out of her all day)

3:57 We take another bathroom break. I’m thankful for a Chinese squat toilet and not an outhouse.

4:17 I take the ear buds out of my ears, distracted from the media chatter by the overwhelming beauty of China. I spend the next few minutes in awe of both the magnificence of my surroundings and the enormity of the goal we’re actively accomplishing.

5:23 We achieve our walking goal for the day and take a ride or walk to the

nearest bearable hostel that doesn’t appear to have rats, bedbugs, or a smoke stench that causes our eyes to water upon entering the room.

5:37 We check in after Annimal bargains a price, then explains what we’re doing to the laoban (boss) and answers many questions about the Weigoren she brought with her.

5:46-5:53 We struggle to carry Annimal’s pack up the narrow staircase of the hostel to our designated floor.

5:55 We collapse onto our hard beds, put our feet up on the wall, evaluate our calloused and blistered feet, and reconnect to wifi and the world.

6:20 We hobble downstairs to find a meal and a beer. I try to convince myself that I like Chinese food and that eating rice and stir-fried vegetables

for the 8^th time this week is a blessing.

7:12 I take the longest, hottest shower possible, all the while standing over a Chinese squat toilet.

7:49 Meditation.

8:09 Bed yoga. It’s like normal yoga, but you can do it while you’re lying in your bed.

8:24 We write, send blogs and videos, plan tomorrow’s route, talk to family, massage our sore muscles, and try to stay warm in the freezing hostel room.

10:22 We turn the lights out to rest up to do it all over again the next day.