Standing inside my mother’s former home for the first time, I notice the uncovered skylight. The floor beneath it is moist with rain that has fallen through. Scratched pots and pans lay cluttered on the stove. The furniture is dusty and sticky with age. Only the barest traces of my mother’s stories remain, buried among the charcoal ash in the wood-burning stove and veiled within Chairman Mao’s faded portrait hanging over the dining table.
After ten years of waiting, fourteen hours of turbulent plane flight, and eight hours in a rattling bus, I am finally in Jiexi, a county in the southeastern province of Guangdong, China. For my mother, this is the village where she spent her youth. For me, it’s the village of my mother’s vivid stories. Yet, despite all these mud-colored and dirt-streaked houses, what I see now is not anything like I dreamed.
My mother was born just a few years before Mao died, living in a time when people kept the work ethic and spirit but not the stricter Socialist ideas. The life she spun in her stories possessed few physical luxuries, but was uniquely rich in spirit and ambition.
She would tell of the boy who refused to share the village’s only TV, and how she got revenge by throwing a fist-sized ball of cobwebs into his bedroom window. Or maybe how her father got a little tipsy each dinner and would repetitively lecture her for hours on important life values.
Back then, nobody thought twice about children openly defecating into a dirt hole beside the road. All meat was home raised – oinking, clucking, and quacking right inside the living room. Yet, teachers would shame a child for carefully fastening her hair bows instead of studying hard. Reading fiction or naming pets was an impractical and absurd use of time.
“On our roads roamed numerous cats and dogs that were used for functional purposes like rat-catchers, guards, and food – but never as pets.” I walk down the now-empty, dusty, and unpaved road, crushing used cigarettes and chunks of dirt as I go.
“I collected buckets of water from the village well each day and brought them home for the family.” The water buckets are now dry and cracked, their insides streaked with mold and shadows.
“Before Mao died, a loudspeaker attached above our house’s door woke the community up with spirited, political songs.” But this seemingly deserted place is quiet, its formerly revolutionary spirit extinguished – except in my mother’s stories.
Despite the village’s shabby condition, there are still signs of life – an occasional villager, a rack of drying clothes. As I walk through a small garden, my uncle thrusts his hand into the soil and digs out fresh, moist peanuts to eat. Two sweaty children, tanned brown by the sun and wearing faded clothes, openly stare at us, colorful foreigners trampling through their land. A few old men, wearing layers of wrinkles carved by the rivers of time, smoke in front of their doors.
In only a few decades, the young people of this village – and all of China, in fact – have leaped far away from their poverty-stricken history and into the big cities, leaving behind aged people and aged memories. To preserve the little village and its resilient spirit, stories like my mother’s must be retold, written, and passed through generations. Or else the dirt-caked childhood of my mother’s memories will disintegrate into oblivion, leaving future generations to remember only an abandoned shell of weeds and crumbling buildings.
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Grt place to visit.. This place is located after entering the Ranthambore National Park.. However, to visit this place u can evn get your own vehicle…
John, glad you liked the story. This park is in Ohio where the weather can be unpredictable! It’s warmest between late April and November, but even April has the risk of some snow. If you’re camping with kids, the safest bet is June to August, because it’s warmer and there’s little rain. Enjoy your trip.
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It’s truly magical being there. I love the art this country offers. Their wall arts and crafts are just lovely.
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The history of Cuhahoga valley national park seems interesting and must be a new experience when we observe scenes of National park from their scenic campgrounds.
which season do you think is the best time to visit this national park?
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Wow, what a nice article. Makes you feel like you should pack up and go immediately. It seems Linblad runs a good operation and trips are kid friendly. Is there a list of particular dates that are family friendly or are there kid activities year round on board the boats. Any other advice on travling with kids to Ecuador and Galapagos would be really welcome.
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Hello Michael, glad to hear your family is interested in a dude ranch holiday.
Since your kids are older and, hopefully, everyone in the family rides, you have lots of options. The Dude Ranchers Association is a really helpful resource in sorting through the many types of ranch vacations. For example, you can go here: https://duderanch.org/by-activity-amenity and search for ‘Advanced Rides’ and “Cattle Drives’ and that would get you some real working ranches that would have more of the lifestyle you seem to be looking for. One of our authors recommends the Hideout in Shell, Wyoming for this type of trip.
Looking for a real ranch experience with horseback riding (lots of it) and time in the open air with my son (15) and daughter (12) and my wife (49). I am 62. We live in NJ, my children have been sheltered but I grew up in a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania. I want my children to see another side of life.
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Of course, you can do travel freely and easily through these two countries yourself, but I enjoyed having the trip curated for me, including well-chosen local guides, comfortable transportation on call and some superb private tours, such as a Khmer cooking class or historic walking tour of Saigon, with flexibility in the itinerary for our group of five to follow their own paths, such as making an emotional detour to the moving Genocide Museum housed in the old S-21 jail in Phnom Penh.
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For Richard re: dual citizenship US-Nicaragua… can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Hi Richard, In our travel experience, this type of document should work well for your travels, but if your wife is available, it can’t hurt to download the sample forms we have online and also have her fill out and notarize one for your trip with your child. The agency responsible in your case will be the carrier — we assume an airline — and if they can make a note in your travel record that they have approved the Nicaraguan documents you should be fine on both departing and entering.
Safe Travels!
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very informative article Travel forums provide first hand experience and advice to travelers and are a great source of information and travel tips.
As a signal parent, your life, world, actions are based on your childs well fair. Not your happiness or anything that has to do with you.
It should list where they are going, the dates that they are allowed to go and grant your permission for that trip. You want to include your address and phone number and probably the contact info for the adult traveling as well.
The grand archways and the paintings of Lord Krishna and his cows are a visual treat. Wander through areas opened for tourists and you shall witness the impressive aura and architecture of the Royal state of Rajasthan.
Thanks for Sharing
Hello guys my wife and I have dual citizenship US-Nicaragua, I’m planning to travel to the US with our son also dual citizenship for 3 weeks, with a Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) from Nicaragua, can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Congratulations to the winners! A question to all the professional travelers here, how are you planning the route ant the places to see while visiting a new country? As for me I just google the most touristic and popular places. It works mostly, but there were a few times when I realized that I have seen only some the places this country or city is famous for, and that’s sad. On my last trip to Armenia, I decided to take a tour and it was quite productive. It’s much more informative when somebody is telling you history and some interesting facts. If someone wants to save their time – make sure to ask them to help if you’ll ever be there.
Curitiba é uma lugar lindo, além de ser considerada uma das melhores cidades para se morar em Brasil.
Realmente a muito o que conhecer por lá, como também diversas outras belezas do nosso brasil.
Principalmente as praias do Brasil que são muito procurada por inúmeros turistas internacionais e nacionais.
As Praias do Litoral Paulista, divididos entre Praias do Litoral Norte e Litoral Sul.
As mais conhecidas são as Praias de Ubatuba com mais de 100 belas praias no litoral norte paulista.
Já no litoral sul, a região mais procurada são as Praias de Guarujá, a região conta com 23 praias de pura beleza e preservação ambiental.
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Aloha!
I would like to add my baby equipment company, Nana’s Baby Equipment. I serve the entire island of Kauai with aloha!
Mahalo,
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Was an honour and pleasure to host you both in the Maori Whakata/Welcome to Wanaka. Welcome back anytime to this wonderful part of the world.
Kia Kaha/Stay strong
[http://www.wanahaka.co.nz]