Jinji Sadan

Like I wrote earlier I had an invitation to be a part of an “Israeli week” that was planed to be in the city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in china, the embassy of Israel with the city of Chengdu invited artist from Israel to show the locals some of our culture and to keep up with the good and warm connection between Israel and china.

 For me was planed a cycle with the locals in the event but before I will write on this day I will write how I got there.

I was cycling fast in this really cold weather to get in the time to my flight I didn’t wanted to miss this flight so I enter to the highway to cycle fast in the last days, its not allowed to cycle there but I thought that no one will care in this time of a year and I know that foreigners cyclist are a rare sight her.

 I was cycling when a police car came and did noise and shout at me to stop.

In these moments I am putting my stupid smile but when I saw this 2 police guys coming out from the car with a camera I laughed…

They did with me some shots when they salute me and we say good bye to each other…

 

 The flight was in the morning and we needed to wait until they workers will take the ice from the runaway and I after 2 flights I got to Chengdu airport where nice girls waited for me and took me to my hotel.

From the first moment I noticed the excitement of this event.

 

 

I was tired from the last 2 months but I wanted to see every event that was scheduled and went to see the performance of singers and bands from Israel.

Even the famous Israeli singer David Daor took a part and his voice was    warm to the chine’s people.

There is Israelis that living and study here so we had parties and I enjoyed my time.

After 40 days without meeting a traveler to come and be here was like to be on a warm Israeli island in the middle of china.

 My cyclist’s friends, yorma, Aziza and Toby heard that I am coming to Chengdu and they took a part in the riding event.

In the last day of the Israeli week and a bus full of reporters waited for me and we drive together to the event.

When we got closer and closer I got a confused from the many police cars and signs with my photos and name.

When I saw the amount of people that waited for me I had only one word to say:

“Wow”

Every thing in china is big and if they do something they do it big.

Hundreds of people were standing in front of a big stage with my photos, they were many important people like the Israeli ambassador, Mr. Amos Nadai, and the mayor of chengdu and they had some speeches but I had problem to listen to them I was distracted by the amount of cyclists and people from all ages waving the Israeli and the chine’s flags.

I had some tears in my eyes and then I knew thats this is the most emotionally day that I had in this journey.

After the ceremony we cycled to the center of the city about 70km with a police escort and an open lane just for us… “thats the way to enter a city” me and my dear friends said to each other.

 That most emotionally moments are coming by surprise and noticed that for me this days are coming because other people action to me and not the other way around.

 When I started this journey I imagine the happiest moments to be when I am finishing continents or climbing a big mountain but with the time noticed that the” human” are moved me the most.

 

When I finished everything and the adrenalin was in a normal standard I watched the event and listen to what the ambassador said:

“I am more then 35 years in the Israeli foreign affairs mission and this is one of the happiest days in my service”  

 ”To be an ambassador I learned many things but no one taught me that I can ride on a bicycle and represent my country”.

China is the country that “every thing is made” and she also made me the happiest guy on earth.

It was also very funny to hear the chine’s saying Mr. Jinji…

 

For more then 3 years I am working with the Israeli embassies around the world and together we showing them the real Israeli and not the things that every one see on the CNN and this guys are doing magic most of the travelers thinks that the embassy workers are going from a cocktail to a cocktail but its really not the truth and this fin guys are working days and night to represent our country and doing the best even to make lemonade from the lemons that life brings to us.

Most of them are humble and not many people know this in Israel and it’s about time to say (or write) it loud.

Behind this big event there is the “ant” that holding the strings of every thing and the name of him was Guy Kivetz ,Spokesman ,Director of Communications & Public Diplomacy  in Israeli embassy in china, for the last 3 months this man work day and night to produce this event.

The mobile phone was part of is ear and he had his sleeping on the flights going back and forward from Chengdu to bejing.

Even when I knew that he is very busy he had the time to call me and to ask if everything is ok and if I need some thing.

I want to thank him for making this vision come true and because of him many people know about Israel and that if we doing some thing we try to do it in the best way that we can.

If we started to cycle we will cycle around the world.

I give guy and all the Israelis that representing my country a big salute.

 

Now I am back on the road after 2 flights back to the place that I stooped and It’s very cold (-10) but I have so much power from this week.

 In this week I learned again that every thing is possible for that people that dreaming with open eyes.

To see chine’s girls signing together with David Daor “messiah, messiah in Hebrew its some thing that I never thought that I will see…and maybe its a sign that is coming soon..

 

 Keep up the good work my friends

 

Roei “jinji” Sadan

 

Where every thing is made

 

China

The world

       

  

China its very big country –no news in that statement but even after 3 months I look at the map and the road to the sea and I see more months.

In the last 5 weeks I did more then 2500km to crossing desert and mountains but I still got more of them to go.

China is so diverts there is more then billion people live in this country but in the west side there is not so many and the desert are the only thing to see with no big cities.

I cant say that my route in china lead me to the most beautiful places that this amazing country has to offer but its too big and I am with a bicycle and came to cross  this giant and no to travel   in it. If there are sights that are really close to me I will go to have a look but other then that in my resting days I just eat, rest, read and do some  internet work.

I will have my travel time in a month after finish my journeys in china at the place were the wall meets the ocean and I will earn my time traveling in china.

The last 5 weeks were the loneliest weeks that I had in this journey.

There are people on the road but no one understands me.

China is a challenge.

Every thing is a challenge here.

Going to a restaurant is a challenge-I don’t understand nothing from the menu (if there is one), asking directions on the road is a challenge-most of the signs on the road are in Chinese.

Finding a place to rest in a room and not in a tent is challenge-many places can’t accept foreigners and even in the internet places they give you problems because I don’t have a Chinese Id card.

No one understands me and they can drive me crazy because they laugh about how is try to speak and how I even use my chop stick –this sticks are good for drumming on a drum but for eating???

So you need to have patience and know that they stare and laugh about you because it’s how some people do that when they don’t understand me. Not because they mocking me they are very nice people in china.

We all can feel lonely even with many people around us no?

All over the world People needs to have numbers to Measures acts, time,status,age,distance,success  and more things in life by numbers.

If I will say I am cycling all over the world it’s nice but if I will give numbers they will understand better.

To say very far is nice but to say 54000km is much better.

If I will say it’s very cold that nice but if I will mention the numbers -10 it will be much useful way to described cold.

But not only about my numbers even in everyday life like:

Very expansive it’s not enough its how much $ it cost.

It’s not how smart you are its how much you got in the final exams.

In many ways it’s not who you are and what you do is the numbers and grades that you bring.

Sad but true.

A dream is one thing that you can’t describe in numbers.

Our brain is busy thinking in numbers but how you described emotions like loneliness in numbers?

The feeling that you feel like an alien in your world?

I have with me a letter that my friends made for me and its say:

“Hello, my name is roei

I am 28 years old from Israel.

I am cycling around china (they will not understand if I will writ the world).

I came from kashgar and going to bejing (not really true but it better to say places that people will understand).

I am sorry but I don’t know much Chinese but I really like your food and your country”

That’s an answer for the common questions that people ask me.

I also have a pictures dictionary that I can point on the things that I want like, if I want breakfast I point on the eggs and tomato and doing frying sign.

From all my journeys I collected experience and tools to help me communicate with others.

That’s one of the gifts of being alone all the time.

China is not a place to start your journey and I think that I will start her I will also finish here…

Now for the plans for the future:

In the next week I will fly for a week to the city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province.

The Israeli embassy with the locals municipality doing an “Israeli week” and many known artist coming to perform and to show that locals what is really Israel.

They invented to ride with the locals and to show my journey.

I got a feeling that is going to be very big.

I just thought how I can describe loneliness in numbers:

For 40 days I didn’t meet one traveler.

Only Chinese and only one person that I could have a conversion in English.

Think of this number when you will feel lonely and it might help you to think that it’s not the end of the world or even not the end of china…

I will finish this post with a story about how you can look at things in a positive way:

Yesterday I talked with one of the childhood friends, Eyal Petrushka, I share with him my tiredness and told him about that no one here understanding me and think that I am crazy.

“wow jinji! So you mean it just like back at home?” eyal asked me…

Now you understand me?

Until the next time

Roei ” jinji” sadan

Baotou

Inner Mongolia

China

Asia

The world