China

I lived in Beijing in 2013, in an apartment with a giant framed world map on the wall. China was the place that taught me how to be uncomfortable and keep going. The air some days was thick enough to chew, the language was a wall, and every simple thing, from buying a train ticket to ordering lunch, was its own small adventure. I ate hot pot every chance I got, the divided pot with the spicy side and the safe side, and the spicy side always won.

I also traveled as much as I could, which is how I ended up with more than a thousand photos. The Great Wall and the Forbidden City are worth every cliché, but I loved the smaller moments too: crowded markets with friends, sunsets over high-rise apartments, and beach towns down south with palm trees and cucumber drinks by the pool. China is too big to understand in one trip or even one year. I'm still trying.