At the Summer Palace in Beijing, there is a tourist attraction called The Long Corridor.
It doesn’t seem so long at first, but it’s a hefty little stroll along Kunming Lake. The paintings almost bring the ancient royal families to life, but for the throngs of tourists who take the stroll now.
As we’re closing up our suitcases and heading for the airport, my stomach is churning about The Long Plane Ride on for our journey to bring PunditGirl’s birth country to life for her.
I wanted to write some amazingly thoughtful post this morning as I’m going over the packing list, making sure we have all the phone numbers and e-mail addresses we’re going to need, and doing the last-minute house straightening so I don’t have to come home on two weeks to a mess in the kitchen!
But all I can think of at the moment is the 15 + hours it will take to get there, how sleep-deprived and jet-lagged we’ll be, and how PunditGirl’s life is about to change forever in ways that we can’t even fathom yet.
Internet access permitting, I’ll be posting snippets of the trip here whenever possible. There will be little political wonkiness here for a bit — but there’s plenty of time for that when we get back!
March 19th, 2010 at 8:06 am
Sending you off with extra love and patience (oh I know I am the wrong person to offer that!). I look forward to hearing/reading/seeing all about your journey! xxoo
March 19th, 2010 at 8:07 am
Joanne, have the MOST WONDERFUL time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Safe travels, dear friend. Oh, it brings tears to my eyes to think of you and PunditGirl on this journey together!
March 19th, 2010 at 8:08 am
Oh my! It really is the trip of a lifetime! Have a safe journey. What an amazing experience for you to be able to share with your daughter. I cannot wait to read about it!
March 19th, 2010 at 8:13 am
Bon voyage!
March 19th, 2010 at 8:20 am
Can’t wait to see and read ALL about the trip, and I think I will stop whining about how long it is going to take us to get to London next week!
March 19th, 2010 at 9:19 am
Have an amazing time! I cannot wait to read all about this trip. What a fantastic thing you are doing.
March 19th, 2010 at 9:36 am
How wonderful. While I’ve never been back to my birth country, when I was in Taiwan for work I found the experience oddly . . . comforting. It was novel to be surrounded by people who looked vaguely like me, something I really hadn’t experienced before. I’m very interested to hear how PunditGirl feels about the trip. (And I would love to chat about it offline if you’re not comfortable sharing it publicly.)
Safe and happy travels!
March 19th, 2010 at 9:39 am
It is sure to be an amazing and inspiring trip for each of you in your own ways, and together as a family. Savor every moment!
March 19th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Have a wonderful trip! Try to sleep on the plane, and enjoy yourself!
March 19th, 2010 at 10:39 am
Sending good wishes on your journey — it will be amazing!
March 19th, 2010 at 11:08 am
Have fun…
March 19th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Have a great trip. I will be very interested to hear how it affects Pundit Girl (If you’re willing to share).
March 20th, 2010 at 4:41 am
If I had known abt the long flight I would have suggested NO-JETLAG –homeopathic to stimulate the Immune System and help your body cope with the high-altitude pressure and the air.
You are on a Journey to recapture something of yourself from another time…how wonderful…I’m sure you will drink it all in and give us a run-down when you return…safe travels!
Alamar
March 25th, 2010 at 9:02 pm
Looking forward to reading about this enormously important (and scary) experience of a lifetime.