Friendship Exuberance at 12:34 AM

Last week was seriously one of the craziest weeks of my life. I had about 8 days off for the Chinese national holiday and it is easily one of the most intense vacations I have ever had. I mean, we milked this thing for all it was worth. We traveled across China in buses and trains and it was great. I saw some of the coolest places I've seen in my life in the last week. I also experienced some of the craziest things in my life. Some things I'm not so sure that I would ever want to consider doing again, and things I pray I'll get a chance to see one more time before I die. I kind of think that life is like that.

The one thing that really made the difference for me though was the people I was with. I don't know how I always get so lucky with friends, but even in China my friends have made a big difference for me. This trip was a great example for me. We hit some pretty crazy conditions in a couple spots and we laughed about it and pushed on through and it has turned into one of my greatest memories (and it's not even over). The pictures above are the people I traveled with. I traveled with three girls, who have kind of turned into little sisters, and a married couple with their two kids. The one thing that really got me thinking about this was how easygoing they all were. Even in the crazy circumstances they could all roll with it, make it work, and laugh it off. Whether we hadn't had enough sleep, or we hadn't eaten, my new friends were patient, nice, and supportive.

I think a good friend can make all the difference. Some of the sights I saw were breath taking, but having the other people there and even the kids I traveled with just made it something completely different, and in a good way. I think that people often cross our paths and we just have to realize that we can be a good friend to them and vice versa. I really am amazed at how much sweeter my travels have been because of the people I went with or the people I met. This is probably the same kind of joy I hear some married people mention every once and a while (my dad).

The pictures above are the friends I spent the crazy week with. I write a blog about the trip and some of the stuff that happened to us really soon. Thanks for reading, I love to hear from all of you.

Sorry it takes me time to write back, lately it's been easier to update the blog than write everyone back, but I'm working on it.
And yes, I grew a beard.