How far can you walk into the woods?

The title of this post is an old question. Think about it a minute... do you know? The answer is halfway, because after that one would be walking out.

I feel like I have reached that point. Since leaving Seattle 44 days ago I have been heading somewhere, whether conscious or not I wanted to reach Xinjiang, and today at 1:00 in the afternoon as we left the Kubukul lake (a day earlier than planned - but that is the story for a future post) I realized that no longer was I heading somewhere, but now I am slowly working my way back.

That is not to say that the trip back won't be adventurous or filled with its own stories and amazing experiences, but just that it is a different feeling. A feeling that can only be characterized with knowing that this trip is coming to an end. I only have 2 more weeks in China and those are jammed packed with a visit to Hami to see the eclipse, a visit to Chengdu in Sichuan to see the Olympic torch relay and hopefully see Jiazhaigou Nature Reserve, followed by less than a week in Yunnan.

It is then a week in Hong Kong and Macau for the Olympics and then home. Before I know it I will be sitting at a desk in a classroom on Georgetown's campus and this trip will be a memory.

But what I have seen and learned first hand will characterize my final year at Georgetown. It has changed not only my opinion on the modernity-traditionalism argument, but how I view the nation of China as a whole, and how Beijing makes decisions. I feel like my opinions are no longer based on the opinion of the multitude of authors I have read, but rather on my own experiences. In the end there is nothing more valuable and with that knowledge, I feel stronger and more certain in my opinions.