The cost of armchair travel is quite manageable, or even free–with books from the library or on my Kindle. These days, I search for free, old, out-of-print books that give me a picture of what life was like for Esther Nelson in Sichuan, 1924-1951.
One that’s right on target is Across China on Foot, by Edward Dingle, published in 1909. He said that western China “moves, if at all, but at a snail’s pace.” So what Esther Nelson experienced upon arriving just 15 years later was very much the same as what Dingle described.
He traveled by boat from Shanghai up the Yangtze to Chongqing before walking through the Sichuan province and further. “So far as I know,” he wrote, “I am the only traveler, apart from members of the missionary community, who has ever resided far away in the interior of the Celestial Empire for so long a time.”
Slightly more expensive than free is my most recent Kindle book purchase. I’m really enjoying The Great Walk of China, by Graham Earnshaw. Earnshaw’s walk across China was inspired by Dingle’s book. His walk was truly across China, not just in the west as Dingle’s was. And unlike Dingle, Earnshaw lives in China and is fluent in the language.
Way more expensive than the armchair sort is the travel that happens when I get up out of my armchair and fly away, as I will, Lord willing, to China in March, following in Esther Nelson’s footsteps. So . . .
Talitha, Joann and Grace Pittman, and I will have a table at the Bethlehem Holiday Boutique at the North Campus this weekend–Friday-Saturday, 11/18-19. Friday–6-9 pm. Saturday, 10 am – 2 pm. We’ll have those knitted cotton dishcloths that everybody loves (made with love by my own little hands), earrings for Christmas and other times, and lots of Chinese things. All the income goes into the travel fund with great thanks from us.
Even more, we want you to get to know Esther Nelson, and that will be a good time to get started. There’ll be 3 Shutterfly photobooks for you to flip through, scanned from Esther’s photo albums of the years of her life and work in China.
Also, as long as the gifts last, there’s a gift waiting for anyone who takes time at our table to subscribe to Tell Me When To Pack, using his or her device (smart phone, Ipad, or computer) or my computer there.
So, see you this weekend? Why don’t you go to my FaceBook events page and click to let me know?
