Final Thoughts

Well, with this post, my "Adventures in China and Taiwan" blog, as all things eventually do, will meet its end. I'd like to quickly run through a few thank-you's, although there are so many people not included on this list to whom I am very grateful:
- First, to my readers. I know there are at least three or four people reading this; I really have no idea how many. Whoever you are, I hope you have found some sort of bizarre entertainment in my ramblings or maybe have picked up a travel tip or two for China and Taiwan. This is the first time I've really written for an audience, other than a teacher or professor, so it was difficult trying to keep this blog appealing for the wide variety of people who might be reading. Hopefully, I didn't disappoint too much.
- Now, two thank you's to two very special potential readers. First, to the editors of the Lonely Planet travel guidebooks. If you've been reading along the whole time, just dying to let me know how much you love my style, now is the time to contact me. Pending salary negotiations, I'm willing to travel anywhere in the world to write for LP. Secondly, a very warm thank you to the Chinese PSB. At times I suppose I poked a little fun at the Chinese people, but it was all in good fun; I truly love China, it's people, and it's culture. I'm glad you recognized this and did not lock me in jail.
- Thank you to Jeanette and John for letting me borrow their rock climbing gear, and I wish them a wonderful trip to China.
- Thank you to Fu Laoshi and Su Laoshi for their instruction in Chinese - which was what really made this trip feasible - and for their assistance in planning the trip.
- Thank you to Arthur and his family in Hong Kong for the warm welcome to Asia and for the awesome hotpot dinner.
-Thank you to Xu Yuan and her family for providing me with an absolutely wonderful homestay experience in China. Their kindness and hospitality will never be forgotten, and I look foward to returning one day.
- Thank you to the Chang family in Taipei for their help getting around the city and for their continued friendship.
- Thank you to my brother for sending me exactly one - no more, no less - email during the entire two months I was gone. I received this email tonight, my very last night away from home.
- Thank you to my parents for their support of this trip in particular and for their continued support of all my adventures, even though they don't like any part of them. Also, thank you to them for giving me one more experience which will one day probably convince me that my future consists of being a surf bum and a traveling vagabond, not a doctor.
- Thank you to Yo, W&L's standout rock climber, who actually took the time to make a comment on my blog (my only friend to do so).
- Most importantly, a very special thank you to all the people in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan who made my stay so unforgettable. These people will probably never read this blog or realize how much I appreciate their hospitality, but I will always remember how well I was treated when traveling, and I will do my best to recriprocate and demonstrate the same respect and genuine concern for foreigners traveling in the United States.

For the first time in my life, I truly feel like a traveler. Not a priviliged kid who stays in Marriott's, but a solo adventurer who let go of everything that felt safe and crossed into the unknown in order to see, to experience, and to understand. I walk away from this most recent experience as a more complete person, with a broader view of the world. I walk away more excited than ever... about life. I'm not even home yet, and I'm already planning future adventures! As I've said often, there's so much to see and so little time. When I arrived in China, everyone told me to take it easy, that I had plenty of time to do everything I wished to do. But before I knew it, my time in China was over. I think it's the same with life. We have a natural tendency to put things off until later - always believing that there will be another tomorrow - when in reality, nothing is guaranteed, and in the blink of an eye, everything can change. The only way I know to live is to make the most of the present - to pursue knowledge, to pursue adventure, to pursue understanding...with relentless energy. There's a giant world out there, just waiting to be explored! Why do we fear to stand out from the norm? Why do we fear to do something extraordinary? "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined." ~ FIN