Shenzhen--Twin Moon Bay

My first in-China-out-of-Shanghai excursion happened to take the form of a work trip, a rather illustrious five-day journey with 100 Year 10 students trailing at various speeds behind a group of harassed looking teachers.  The school dubs the week its crowning glory.  Sitting on my couch, upon reflection and a lot of wine, I'm not so sure.

We were told we'd be situated in a rather comfortable hotel right on the beach.  That it was in a beautiful location.

Monday: Arrival in a typhoon. This is a lot like what you'd expect it to be: windy, rainy, a little bit miserable.  Cue zero visibility.  Beach, what? Add driving around bends with a dodgy driver who liked to: text; clean his fingernails; pass cars on a blind curve on a very windy road in torrential rain and you've just about got the picture.

We checked into our hotel, situated our students and made for sleep.

Tuesday: Survival Day, in a typhoon.  This is also a lot like what you'd expect it to be only we chose, CHOSE to 'survive' outdoors.  This was optional.  Our group leader could've exercised good judgment and said something to the effect of: 'there's a typhoon. Let's plan some indoor activities instead.'  Nah.

It started off inauspiciously enough.  My group of students were positive and smiley.  Only when I was in the middle of the forest, knee deep in banana spiders with the rain pelting/fuming/hurling down on top of us did I want to crawl under the nearest available rock.  Our guide told us not to worry about the banana spiders, that they were large but slow moving.  Um...

This is not okay.

It also didn't help that all my proper hiking gear was in boxes on a cargo ship on the way to Shanghai--I walked in running trainers and a wind-breaker the London Marathon Committee dubbed as 'useful'.  Maybe useful in London sludge.  Maybe useful in London drizzle. Within seconds, I was soaked from head to toe.  The hairspray holding back my fringe began to leak down and into my eyes and mouth.  My contact struggled to remain in my eyes.  

And then we got lost. My students remained chipper, bless them.  

Nine hours of walking, village negotiating, river rafting, shelter building and cooking at a 'campsite' which was located in the middle of a village's cow pasture (all through intermittent bands of torrential typhoon rain), we packed it in.

And as the rain continued to lash down, I slept like a baby under the air conditioning.