Isang Sanaysay Tungkol sa Tsina

One thing I just realized -- tamad na ako mag-blog.

Tamad na naman, hehe. Pagalitan ako ni Bok nito eh. Tamad, tamad, puro na lang tamad. Tamad magluto, tamad maglaba, tamad lumabas, tamad mag shopping, tamad kumain. Hmmm, yung last one, di ata ako tinatamad gawin yun =)

So heto yung katamaran ko...magli-link na lang ako ng blog ng iba. Hehe.

Nag train kami ng mga kasama ko mula Hongkong hanggang Shanghai, Xitang, Xian at Beijing. Sira ulo ba kami, kamo? Hindi naman. Ayon sa kalkulasyon ng kasama kong si Lala, halos 79 na oras kami nasa loob ng tren. Tatlong araw at tatlong oras ng paglalakbay sa tren na malinis at efficient.

Nakakagulat nga, at medyo nakakalungkot din. Kasi heto na naman ako at ire-relate sa Pilipinas ang estado ng mga railway sa China. Kung yun lang ang basehan, naku, kaysaya maging komunista. Malinis at efficient ang railways nila, mula Hongkong hanggang Tibet hanggang Europa kayang ilakbay. Samantalang yung mula Maynila hanggang Bikol, di natin ma-maintain. Tsk tsk. Pati nga mga normal na bahay, yung hindi naman mukhang mayaman, ay may mga solar energy panels. Nakaka-impress!

Sige, ibalik na natin sa masasayang usapan.

So mula Hongkong, nag-tren kami patungong Shanghai. Overnight ang byahe sa tren, at masarap naman ang tulog ko dun. Pagdating sa Shanghai, malamig. Naglakad kami papuntang subway station, at nag subway patungo sa titirhan naming hostel. Naligaw pa kami, dahil malayo rin pala ang lalakarin mula subway hanggang hostel. Pero maganda yung hostel. May hot water. At may view sa roofdeck!

Susunod na kabanata...Xitang...

Dried Fruits

Dried Fruit Vendor at Xian's Beiyuan Men Islamic Street (Xian, China)

In truth, I have never really seen this much dried fruit before. Dried apricots, dried cherry tomatoes, dried prunes, dried everything! They even had dried mangoes, which I didn't taste because I still believe Manila's mangoes are the best (home pride syempre!). The dried fruits I did taste were sweet. We even bought some dried cherry tomatoes to munch on. Yum!

Which Way?

The journey started out with hope, and ended with the tale of the Harvard MBA and the fisherman. In our version, like the tale, the fisherman wins hands down. Why live to work when your end goal really is to sustain a relaxed life, taking siestas and enjoying drinks with friends?

So which way is the right way? Then again, the advantage of being older is realizing that there really is no right way, and it is up to your convictions to stand by your own decisions about your own life.

And the truth is, most of the time, I do enjoy what I'm doing.

It's just a struggle sometimes to fit that in with everyone's expectations, especially in a world that will judge you based on your so-called achievements. The joy of being proud of your work is tempered with the realization that sometimes those things do not matter, and oftentimes "talk" and "politics" will get you anywhere, faster. In my experience, nice guys finish last, but that doesn't mean you don't have to be nice. My end goal is not to finish first anyway. It's to finish with dignity. And to do it. My own way.