Well Traveled

The definition of well traveled is a person widely traveled, or a place often visited. Vague, I know. Laura told me it means you know your home well and you've been outside the country. Basically, it means you've seen a few things. Now, I've always thought that I'm not well traveled. I know... I know, you're thinking "Girl, you're in China!" But let me explain. 

As a kid, I never wanted to go anywhere other than up north to my cabin. That was as far as I needed to travel because the woods around my cabin were alive and quiet, homey and mysterious all at once. Plus, I got to roam around on a four wheeler. What kid wouldn't be content. As I've gotten older I've had the yearning deep inside to see more things. Go new places. Get lost and then found again. And until very recently I still thought I was not well traveled. Then I began to think..... I have done more than the average 22 year old. I've been to Disney world. To Augusta, and Portland, Maine. I've been in the Atlantic Ocean on a yacht and swimming at a beach. I've been to Connecticut and seen the beaches there. I've visited Boston twice where I walked the freedoms trail of our ancestors. I saw New York City once (and need to go back). I've seen Franklin Delano Roosevelt's home in New York State. I've been to Dallas and Fort Worth. Seen a classic Texan street and watched them drive long horns down the cobblestones. I've been to Arizona and visited an old west ghost town. I've visited Seattle and surrounding areas twice, seeing puget sound and the giant troll. Not to mention the two claims I have on the gum wall. I've even seen the rolling hills and windmills that are scattered through Iowa. I've seen the Great Lakes and the cascade mountains from an airplane. And that's just what I've had the opportunity to see and do inside the U. S. of A.  

Now I'm in China and I've seen a lot of things here in Shaoxing that have become normal for me. I forget that not everyone experiences this. The canals and bridges that make this city unique. He old men playing cards and shouting hello! 

Come February, the plan is to visit Southeast Asia... Thailand and perhaps Vietnam or the Philippines. 

It always takes me a second to remember that I'm pretty well traveled for a small town, Midwestern girl. My first response is always 'I've not really been anywhere.' But the truth is, I have. I can navigate my home town and state real well, my country pretty well, and now I'm attempting to navigate a foreign country. 

I don't mean this to be a brag posting. I'm so very thankful for those opportunities and this one. It truly amazes me sometimes to realize "I'm in China!" 

I don't know if I'll get another year over here or if I'll venture in another direction. That's in HIS hands, and wherever I go, it'll be another addition to my list of experiences. 

Until next time. 

P. S. No matter how 'well traveled' I get, I know where home is...always waiting and welcoming.