The Chronicles of the Foreigner Trip: Installment 1, the Bus Ride

We didn't really think much about the mode of transportation when we signed up for the foreigner trip sponsored by the provincial government.

We heard, "Foreigner trip. Northern province. Glacier. Great Wall." Cool!, we thought.

Then we started telling students we would be gone and we heard, "Oh, that is not a bad trip. Only 10 hours by train."

"But, we're going by bus."

*sharp intake of breath* "Ohhh..."

Mike is always up for an adventure!

So, we are prepared for a long, laborious bus ride, armed with anti-nausea meds and plenty of music and comfortable clothes for sleeping.

Surprise! The bus ride ended up being great! We slept some, played cards, listened to music and teaching, and had some interesting conversations. We were blessed to sit near some of our foreign friends and made some new friends as well.

Oh, yeah! Sleeping across two seats like a pro!

All in all, we spent about 24 hours on the bus over the Tuesday-Saturday trip. Not too bad: A potty break every 3 hours or so. Some great stops on the way to and back.

Our awesome bus tour guide and new friend, Sunny.
She interpreted the Chinese tour guides at each of our destinations
and generally made sure we were happy.
Too bad the boys gave her such a hard time... :)

Stay tuned for the next installment: The First Stop, Jiayuguan.