10 Things to give a traveler

During the holidays, we like to remember our friends & family with cards & gifts. But what do you do when there is a traveler in your life? They might not stay in one place long enough to receive anything you could send through the mail. It might seem hopeless to include them on your holiday card mailing list.

But there is still a way - the internet is a wonderful thing. There are so many digital gifts & e-cards out there. Besides, your traveler probably doesn't need any more stuff. Here are ten things you can give a traveler without weighing down their luggage.

1. Credit at Amazon.com for Kindle e-books, digital music & more
2. Virtual language lessons - a couple of my favorites: ChinesePod, Lo Más TV
3. Online exercise classes - MyYogaOnline.com
4. Netflix membership - the streaming only option
5. A membership at Hostelling International
6. A donation to their favorite charity - I like Kiva.org 
7. Your unused frequent flyer miles
8. A tour in or around their current location
9. A visit - meet them somewhere!
10. A phone call - Skype.com

Wishing you a happy holiday season & a new year filled with adventure.

I'm Just Here for the Savasana

For the last several months, my shoulder has been hurting me. I thought it was because I always carry my bag, which is full of books & journals, on that shoulder. I've switched my bag to the other shoulder, but after several weeks, there's been no improvement. My shoulder hurts enough so that I can no longer enjoy my favorite yoga pose: savasana.

I asked one of the yoga instructors at the yoga studio near my apartment what I can do to relax my shoulder, & she suggested acupuncture. So now I'm looking for an acupuncturist in China. Talk about your cultural experiences.

Bilingual Yoga

There's a yoga studio just across the street from the mall where I work. The other day I went there to try out one of their classes. Since I don't speak much Chinese, I was expecting to have to watch what the rest of the people were doing & just follow along. But it turns out that the instructor is bilingual & did the whole class in both English & Chinese. Cool. Not only did I get a yoga session, but I also got a language lesson.

吸气

xi1 qi4

inhale

呼气

hu1 qi4
exhale

Stair Master

I've been in Shanghai for almost three months now, & haven't done any sort of exercise since I got here. At least in Vietnam I rode a bicycle everywhere. But here I just walk five minutes to work & that's it. I'm starting to feel squishy.

So I decided to take advantage of my surroundings. I live on the 22nd floor, right? Why not climb the stairs for exercise? The other day I got myself all psyched up to try it. I put on my workout clothes & my hiking shoes, grabbed a bottle of water, & took the elevator down to the first floor.

I was at the top in five minutes. Huh? I was pretty sure I didn't skip any floors. I was definitely breathing hard by the time I got to the 22nd floor, but how is it possible that it only took me five minutes?

I took the elevator back down to the first floor & climbed the stairs again.

Jam-Packed Fun-Filled Weekend

My weekend started on Friday, since it was the 5th Friday of the month. When a month has five Fridays, I take the 5th Friday for myself. Normally, I use the long weekend to go out of town, but I decided that, since The Economy is in the tank, it would be better to save my money. So I stayed home & had a really great weekend anyway.

I began Friday morning with my favorite yoga class with Barb at SWIHA in Tempe. I love this class because it's just beyond my ability level, making it just the right amount of challenging. Often, we'll do a series of positions that I'm familiar with, then suddenly Barb will say something like, "Now put your leg here!" I always try it (chuckling all the while), but don't always get my leg exactly there.


After yoga class, I spent the rest of the day at the movie theater, watching a total of three movies! See my Movie Blog for details.





On Saturday, I went out to the Superstitions to hike Flat Iron. The weather was perfect, yet again. What a great hike!





Saturday night, I went over to one of my students's house to watch an episode of Amor Mío, & try to type up the dialog in hopes of making a Spanish class out of it somehow.

On Sunday, I met with Juliana, my Chinese tutor. I'm slowly improving. We actually had a conversation in Chinese about my triple feature at the movie theater! One day I'll be able to discuss more profound topics, but for now, I'm happy I can understand anything at all.

Then I went to my friend Tracy's house to watch the Super Bowl. I'm not much of a sports fan, but this was a great game!

Sweaty

Whew! Yoga was hard today. I wound up by the door, which I don't usually like, so I'm not sure if my chi was off or what, but I was off balance a lot, I got tired in easy poses, & I was sweating like I was in a Bikram yoga class. I needed Sweaty Bands!

Yoga vs. Bryce Canyon

When I got back from Bryce Canyon, I expected to be hella sore for the next several days. Miraculously, I wasn't sore at all. At all.

Now that I've been going to yoga classes again (I had skipped yoga for two weeks in favor of Camelback to train for Bryce), I'm sore. It definitely feels like I've been using my muscles. But it feels good, like I've been doing something good for my body.

I said it before & I'll say it again: I heart yoga!

Sleeping In

I'm tired. All of this mountain hopping has worn me out. I thought this was supposed to get easier the more I did it, but yesterday morning my legs were like lead as I climbed Camelback at 6:30am. It could have something to do with the insanely early hour that I've been wrenching myself out of bed in the mornings.

So I decided to give myself a little break. I was planning on sleeping in this morning with little hope that I would actually be able to do it since I've gotten up so early all week long. But, happy day! I was able to sleep until 9:00am. I guess I really did need the break.

3rd Ascent

Start: 6:30am
Finish: 8:15am

Yes! I made it up the mountain three days in a row! I must be a crazed lunatic. But not so much as some other people out there.

I'm amazed at life in Phoenix at 6:00am. There are A LOT of people out & about at that hour. Unbelievable. The construction workers looked like they had already been at it for a while. The highway on-ramp traffic signals were already blinking red & green, one car at a time. There was an anxious crowd waiting at the bus stop. It's a world I never dreamed existed.

But the most amazing thing to me was that at 6:30am, when I started my hike this morning, there were already people coming off the mountain. That means they got up at, what?, 4:00am? Astounding.

If you're not familiar with Camelback, this blog post gives you a pretty good idea what this hike is like.

Camelback

I'd like to think that I'm a pretty active person; I love hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, yoga etc. But every summer I become a ball of mush because I just can't convince myself to go out in the heat to do anything but go to the grocery store. So I sit for months waiting for the temperature to dip below melting, which is generally at the end of September.

This year, however, the hiking season has started early for me. My motivation: over Labor Day weekend, I'm going backpacking in Bryce Canyon with a group of avid hikers. We'll go down into the canyon about 10 miles, stay overnight down below, & then we'll hike the 10 miles back out. It's the hiking out part that worries me. I'll have a 30-pound pack on my back (if I can consolidate my gear enough) , & I'm miserably out of shape. I have two weeks to try to restore the spring in my step.


So yesterday morning, I started my training regimen by hiking Camelback with my friend Michael. We started our hike at 7:45am. It was already hot (thus my aversion to hiking in the summer time). He, of course, hiked circles around me, but we made it to the top in about an hour. At the summit, the visibility was excellent. We spent about 20 minutes just enjoying the view & discussing landmarks. The hike down was better, but it was still pretty hot. We rested in the shade about halfway down. At 10:00am, we made it back to the car, where I finished off the last of my 100 ounces of water that I had with me. When I got home, I took a cool shower & then I took a nap. I was tired from the hike, but I think I was also suffering a bit from heat exhaustion.

But I need to train for the big trip, so I vowed to get up & do it again today, & every day until we leave for Bryce on August 29th. This time, though, I decided to try to get up earlier. I set the alarm for 6:00am (I can hear you gasping in shock), & I actually got up & was on the mountain by 6:30am (impressive, no?). The hike was much nicer today. I had shade for most of the way up & for about half the way down. It was still hot, but there was a nice breeze for most of the hike, & I only wound up drinking half of my water. What a difference an hour makes! I made it back to the car by 8:15am.

Can I do it three days in a row?

I Heart Yoga!

I've been taking yoga classes at SWIHA in Tempe. My favorite class is the Friday class with Barb because it's hard. The other classes are a good workout, but they're not particularly hard. This class has us doing moves I never even knew existed. I love it!

I'm hoping that I will be able to find yoga classes while I'm on the road. I came across the Yoga Finder website, which will hopefully help me keep up my yoga practice no matter where I am in the world.