Planning a nine-day adventure holiday unlike ever before (May 16)

 

I’m not sure why I didn’t come up with this holiday adventure idea before. Now that I have, I’m so jazzed! Before I fill you in on the details, here’s the ad I’m going to be placing tomorrow:

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Ad for my interpreter and guide

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Can you speak some English? It doesn’t have to be perfect. Do you like adventure? Do you like holidays? If so, I have a nine-day opportunity where I will pay you to go on an adventurous holiday with me. Let me give you the general idea to see if you’d like to know more. 

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You and I would look at our calendars and choose nine days, starting early on a Saturday morning and ending on a Sunday, where we could both clear our schedules of everything else. I want to select these nine days starting as early as Saturday, June 5th but no later than Saturday, August 7th. You will be my guide and interpreter for these nine days. 

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We’ll travel early on the first Saturday morning to some countryside area, not more than two-hours travel from Kunming. We’ll find a village in that area that has a population of 2000-5000 people. We’ll take local transportation to the village. With you as my interpreter, I’ll find us a place to stay in this village (arranging for separate rooms). We’ll stay in this village, exploring, visiting with people and families until the last Sunday morning. Then we’ll return to Kunming.

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I’ll pay all expenses. And you and I will negotiate a fee for these nine days that we’ll both be happy with. I’m excited about this!  Do you think you could be too? Or do you know of someone who might? If you want to know more, please contact now…

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The plans, the projections, and the unknowns

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Where to stay?

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A village in China of this size will not have any hotels, much less a hotel that could accept a foreigner. I know it’s a risk that we might not be able to find a place to stay for the night or nights. And we might need to stay in two separate homes. Worse case, we’ll get a ride back to the nearest city big enough for us to get a hotel and then just visit the village during the daytime.

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What will we do?

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With my interpreter we’ll be stopping people on the street and knocking on people’s doors to ask if I could have a conversation with them to get to know about their life. 

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Who will feed us?

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For eating we’ll either make an arrangement with the family (or families) we’re staying with. Or we can offer to pay some family for a meal. Or, I suspect, some people will offer to treat us to a meal. This has happened in the past when I was visiting a village for a half day. There may be some small stores or street vendors we could buy something from.

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Celebrity for a week?

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By the end of the first day, I suspect everyone in the village will know about “the strange American who has come to visit in our village for a week.” 

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Will someone attend my class?

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Perhaps I can create a chance to give an informal version of my “I Love You, My Life” class. I’ll bring a few handout materials with me, just in case.

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Stay tuned for further developments

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It’s no telling what might happen! I am so excited!