Music to My Ears

.......or should I say the beeping of my phone, alerting me that I have a text message....which has most definitely been music to my ears. For some reason, maybe because texting is the preferred means of communication for teens, Brianna has been sending text messages but has only called home once from China. Many times her text will say that she's unable to call right then, but then she'll continue to send several text messages. I answer each one thinking if you can text me WHY CAN'T YOU CALL ME!!!!! Regardless, the sound of those beeps, has been my favorite sound of the day! I take my cell phone everywhere just waiting to hear them.

It was through a text that I learned she trekked up and across the Great Wall of China the distance of 22 towers! Lets just say that Brian and I did not make if quite that far...not even close! It was also how I learned that she thought it was the hardest thing she's ever done, but that she thought it was "pretty cool". At 4:19am, my cell phone which was sitting right on my night table, beeped again and I learned she was sitting on a plane in Kumming China waiting to take off for Lijing. She said she was doing well, she felt good, she seems to be finding plenty to eat, and she misses us. But, my most favorite message and the one that makes me the most happy, was when she said "I love my group, everyone's so funny and nice". AHHHH......that was like medicine for my worried heart :)

As I write she is asleep in a guesthouse. She and her group will spend the next several days hiking along the Tiger Leaping Gorge which has spanning views of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain towering above the Yangzhe River below. As they hike from guesthouse to guesthouse they will pass the Naxi minority people who make up the population of that region. They will witness them going about their daily chores while they receive a glimpse of a world that has remained unchanged for centuries. After mornings of hiking they will enjoy the afternoons at guesthouses along the way where they will have time to drink tea and enjoy the scenery around them.

I'm not sure what the cell phone service will be there, but I am sure that I will be waiting for the beep of my phone.