So, I arrived in Urumqi almost a week ago. I wanted to write my first impressions, but apparently, I had no time to think about writing as I was working on surviving surrounded by locals who cannot speak English. Even the simplest action takes a lot of effort to pull-off as people are not super good at English here and I suck at Chinese. I now know that I should have learned at least some Chinese hieroglyphs before. Oh well, I now trust in the kindness of the people. And from what I see so far, Chinese people are super kind. At least in the Western part of China where I stay.
It is quite interesting that I am still have not seen any foreigners in China. It's like I am the only dumb Westerner who travels around non-touristic China regions during the winter. But I like that. It lets me feel the culture of China a little more and as far as I am concerned, Chinese culture is amazing - people are kind and the food is delicious.
The only thing that can happen while traveling is the feeling of loneliness. Especially when I travel alone now, which is a completely different experience compared to traveling with a partner. Also, it was easier to travel in Central America, in my eyes. China is just so different and the language barrier is so much bigger. I cannot even start to understand what locals are talking about.
However, I feel super happy. My heart is alive again and pumping strong. Everywhere I go, I smile. Even when I fail, I smile and enjoy the process. I will keep you updated on my journey from now on including all the good and bad moments. I am currently staying near the Labrang monastery and trying to find some monks who would be willing to speak with me and discuss life. I will keep you all updated on my travel from now on. I am still a little busy trying to figure out my schedule while traveling, but writing is one of the priorities!
P.S. Yeah, I don't travel completely alone as I have my panda friend, who is my travel buddy. However, he is not super talkative yet. I believe it might be the language barrier.
