a birthday bash with a side of fear.

Living as a 20-something female traveler in Chi.na has taught me that there are many things I am not afraid of.

Also - living as a 20-something female traveler in Chi.na has taught me that there are many things I am afraid of.

One of them being...snow.

It's not really a fear of snow, it's not knowing how to walk on it/deal with it.

It's been snowing for 3 days. This is the biggest snowstorm I have seen in my place of living ever. (Hangzhou had a huge snowstorm last year, but I was galavanting in Thailand at the time.)

Needless to say, I have no idea what to do/wear/how to get around.

(mom - this is the main gate of my school where you have been)-

Fast forward to tonight.

Tonight after my last class at work, I hurried over (after waiting for a taxi for one hour in the cold/sleet) to my friend Hannah's for her birthday bash! She is the big 2-5 and a gathering of friends were meeting to celebrate her existence...

after some food eating, game playing, and chit-chatting, everyone decided to venture up to their favorite new evening past-time- a fire on the roof of the apartment building (in a metal trash can). I went along with it because I have been hearing so much about the fires and how much fun they have been having up there. And it was Hannah's bday. So up I ventured (last) to the tunnel in the attic of the 7 story apartment building and prepared to crawl through the hole leading to the roof...

UM. There was a lot of snow up there. And even though cognitively I knew it was safe because there was a cement slab and a cement wall thing blocking someone's fall, I was still shaking and petrified. After I crawled through that hole it took me about 15 minutes to walk up the 10 feet of slanted roof to where everyone was gathered around the lit fire.

I froze up. First I was afraid then I was embarrassed. As someone who relishes adrenaline and drama, it was a scary place to be. My mind was thinking "Why the crap am I on top of a 7 story building in the snow. My tennis shoes can't handle this. I'm going to slip and die. This isn't worth it." But another voice was telling me, "All your friends are already up there safely. This is tried and true. Your friends are wilderness people and know this kind of stuff. It's just because you aren't used to snow. Get over it and stop being scared all the time."

Fear fear fear fear fear.

I've turned into quit the old lady recently. I've realized that my good times come from very different sources than many of my friends. I have no interest in doing anything that could be remotely dangerous.

But to my friends, walking over a slight patch of snow on the roof was not danger. So I finally sucked it up and made my way on my hands and knees. Getting down later wasn't quit so bad. I just slid down on my butt, causing severe coldness but ample safety.

I'm not sure why I was so afraid. In the situation there was not any present danger and many had gone before me. Yes, I am not used to snow, and yes I don't really like standing on a 7 story building made up to Chin.ese standards (aka crap-ola). But why did I make it such a big deal?

I hope for more stability in the future when I am faced with something that frightens me. At least for my friends' sake. Poor things, putting up with a drama queen red-head like me.

Here's some of our pics from the top:

Camp Ridiculous Reunion Photo:

all the remaining females at the shindig:

the trio of manly men:
oh, just on a 7 story apartment building in the snow, no big deal (to any of these people!)

look at those footprints!
and we made s'mores with products from Hong Kong (marshmallows) and a friend's care package from Ame.rica (crackers and Hershey's chocolate).

And it was a beautiful, snowy night.

Happy birthday to my dear friend, Hannah.

walk slow. xoxo.