More life perspective from China

Before I left for China everybody asked the question, “why China?” What should have been an easy question to answer was difficult for me. China was a culture and society I knew very little about. My best answer to the question was that I was curious. I wanted to learn more about this huge rising global power, see what it was like to live in such a highly populated country, experience the customs and daily routines of people who lived so differently than myself. The list of reasons went on and on, but there was no one reason that really stuck out. China seemed really foreign to me and like something I had never done before, so I guess the best answer was, “why not?” I have traveled internationally a lot and been to many countries in several continents. I have made so many cool friends, seen awesome monuments and historical sites, and I have partied many nights in clubs around the world. Basically, I have had a real good time.

Coming to China, my focus was more academic than anything else. Sure we have had some fun nights out in the city, but overall Beijing has been far from a party. We have Chinese class four hours a day and three other classes throughout the week. Our usual social activity is a nice meal with good conversation or going to go workout as a group for a couple hours, sometimes we’ll get a group together and go KTV (karaoke) or to a chill bar or lounge. Otherwise, I find myself staying around campus for the most part and being pretty busy doing so.

This past weekend, a group of friends and myself went on a trip to Inner Mongolia. The bus picked us up early Friday morning and we spent the day in the city Datong. There we saw a hanging temple that was built into the side of a mountain. We also went to these caves with huge stone Buddha sculptures that were pretty incredible. On Saturday we went to the grasslands to ride horses and sleep in yurts (these tent-like rooms that are typical of the area). It was freezing cold and we spent the day and night making jokes about roughing it and dreaming of the comforts of our dorm rooms (i.e. indoor plumbing).

We left Sunday morning for the desert to ride camels and ATVs that afternoon. On the way we got into an pretty bad accident and everything since has changed. It was a little after noon. We had just stopped at a gas station so most of us had gotten out and stretched or bought food and were much more alert than the majority of the bus ride which we slept through. We were probably about 30 minutes from our destination and all of us were ready to get out, have lunch and enjoy our planned activities. We were driving really fast and the driver wanted to pass the car in front of us. The road was only two lanes wide and there was a big bus driving toward us in the opposite direction. The driver wanted to pass the little car in front of us before the bus came too close. However, the car was going to turn left and at the moment we would have passed, there was no open space and at the speed we were going there was no way to stop. The driver honked the horn and swerved to the left. The bus lost control and spun, doing a complete 180 to face the opposite direction. We slid off the edge of the road, the bus did two complete rolls down a hill, and we landed on the edge of a marshy lake.

As awful as the crash was, there were a lot of luckily moments involved. We swerved to the side we were able to roll on rather than the side of the road that was a bigger drop. All the windows broke on the first roll so even though half the bus was submerged in water, we were able to climb out the sides or the front windshield. Everybody survived and because the bus was stuck afterward, we were able to get most of our belongings including everyone’s passports and even a couple cell phones worked to call emergency vehicles and our program directors back in Beijing. We were close to a big city and taken to the hospital pretty soon after. Our main luckily is that everyone survived.

Obviously it was a really traumatic experience. We all switched from being scared, to a very real near-death moment where we had to protect ourselves and hold on to the seat or ourselves in any way that would help. Then afterward, once we were all standing outside the bus looking at the wreck that just happened, we felt helpless not knowing where we were or what was going to happen to us. I have never in my life felt so vulnerable and scared and mad all at once.

But it’s been a couple days now and life is getting back to normal. A few of us came back to Beijing and spent the day telling details to the program directors here, trying to figure out how to get everyone back safely. One of the girls had some serious injuries and is not able to be moved so we have been trying to figure out how and when she can get to a Beijing hospital. Some others will fly back tonight. Two will come back in a few days once our friend’s family is able to get to Inner Mongolia. She has a cracked rib and three fractures in her spine. She’s in good spirits but is obviously nervous and frustrated. Originally the doctors said 3-5 days before she could be transferred to a hospital in Beijing. Now it is being extended to a few weeks and we really have no idea how long it’ll take for her to recover. We are just grateful that the worst injury is healable. The rest of us have some scrapes, bruises, and stiffness but physically, it is a miracle that we’re all ok.

It’s incredible to me how quickly life can change. The entire accident probably lasted one minute. And the whole thing happened because the driver was driving too fast. It makes me so mad to think how out of control we all felt because of the stupidity of reckless diving. But right now, I need to focus on getting over all the mad, scared, and vulnerable feelings and work on feeling safe again.

With all the emotions that have been going through my head the past few days and the conversations with family and friends that have been so helpful, I think the most important thing is to appreciate everything we do have. Even while I’m on the opposite end of the world, I feel so supported by being able to share this experience and have the encouragement to stay strong while I’m here and finish out everything I came here to do.

Thanks for all the love. I appreciate it so much. Keep sending good thoughts and prayers this way, especially for my friend still in the hospital. We’re all just wanting to get back to life as it was before the accident, and with her condition it may be awhile before things feel right again.

Love you all,

Colleen

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