A Welcome to My Home!

For two years, I've been living at 中国云南省临沧市云县茂兰镇哨街村哨街学校 - a house with no number, in a village that is so small that it has no post office. 


I will miss this small plot of land on the side of the mountain that has been my primary residence for TWO years. I cannot stress this enough. It astounds me to think that I've lived here for so long. 


On a recent trip to Beijing, a friend introduced me as having lived in China for years - while I nodded in assent, it was strange to hear it for myself. This wooden house that leaks in rain has built a stronger me. All it took was two years. Also attributing to this new found strength - a rat, non-stop bugs, a broken foot, dirt and dust and ash and dirt, no electricity, no water, no refrigeration, no showers, no cold things,  everything opening directly outside, more rats, some cats, entrails at my door, way too many water bottles in my room, sneaky students, loving students, hard-working students, barking dogs, a mysterious donkey/door sound, moths the size of birds, mold, a true understanding of what it means to own ratty clothing. 


This past weekend, Caitlin and Kristen came over in order to sort through the piles of clothes, food, and stationery that Phoebe and I have accumulated over the two years. Most of the food and stationery were mine; Phoebe was giving away most of her clothes!


As a note to self, I took a picture of the clothes that I was giving away in order to remember, so as to not look for them in a few months - going crazy, tearing through my wardrobe looking for these pieces. 

A farewell to threads

Caitlin and Kristen pored over our things and fairly distributed our things between each other, as well as for Nora. To commemorate their visit, Kristen and Caitlin both took photos - and here is a photo of Kristen's that she has shared with me!

I live the mix of modern objects and the aged design of our humble home. For two years, we took this place over. Thanks for visiting, ladies! Thank you also for opening my eyes again to how  unique and unusual this experience has been, how extraordinary these two years in Shaojie and Teach For China have been. I look forward to seeing who will live here in the following years.