I’ve learned a lot in the last 100 days.

The back streets of Shanghai

The back streets of Shanghai

1. Living in Close Quarters for a year can be tough but  not as difficult as living with 8 other families in a 1600 square foot home for the rest of your life.

That’s what we  saw in a village in China. No one was complaining and neighbours got along and looked forward to making dinner together.

water taps

2.

professional essay writers

 Old friends are great but you have to make room for new friends in life.  This trip has given us the opportunity to make new friends like Diego in Argentina (who showed us around his country and took us into his home) and Bruce in China who taught the boys how to count to ten in Mandarin and showed us a side of China most foreigners might never experience.

Muslim walk

Bruce took us deep into the Muslim Quarter and beyond the typical tour.

3.  Time is short.  It’s been 100 days and this trip is everything I dreamt of  and more. It makes you realize the importance of family. It makes you change the way you interact with your wife and children . It makes you appreciate the big and little things. You realize the time that you have with your family is not long at all and you take the time to enjoy it. It’s the one thing we all wish we had more of.

family ride

Time with the family in Yangshuo

I’m looking forward to what the next few months have in store. Thailand, Cambodia and more will probably have many other lessons for us all.