I Grew My Boobs in China

SIHPROMATUM

I Grew my Boobs in China

Savannah Grace

Published by Sihpromatum Publishing House

Copyright © Savannah Grace 2012

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, in whole or in part, without express, written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review in a newspaper, magazine, or electronic publication; nor may this publication be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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Printed and bound in the United States of America

Library and Archives Canada

Cataloguing-in-Publication data

Watkins, Savannah Grace, 1990-
Sihpromatum: I grew my boobs in China /
Savannah Grace Watkins

Also issued in electronic format.
ISBN 978-0-9881231-0-6

1. Watkins, Savannah Grace, 1990 Travel – China.
2. Watkins, Savannah Grace, 1990 Travel – Mongolia.
3. China – Description and travel.
4. Mongolia – Description and travel.

5. Watkins Family.  I. Title.

DS712.W38-2012        915.104’611092       C2012-904888-7

ISBN
978-0-9881231-0-6

eBook ISBN
[JC2]

ePub
978-0-9881231-1-3

Mobi 
978-0-9881231-2-0

Visit our website at

www.sihpromatum.com

Cover photo courtesy of © Ammon Watkins 2005

Author photo courtesy of © Breanna Watkins 2011

Edited by JoAnn Cleaver

Cover design by Heather UpChurch at www.expertsubjects.com

Interior design by Sihpromatum Publishing House

Back cover write-up by Rhiis Lopez

To Mom, for dragging me around the

globe and making me the person I am today,

and to Kees, for always supporting me

and helping my dreams come true.

Thank you.

Note from the Author

Sihpromatum
(Sip-row-may-tum) – A blessing that initially appears to be a curse.

I put this book together with significant prompting from blogs, postcards, family reminiscences, and extensive journal entries.

Some original blog entries and postcards are reproduced directly in the book and identified by double stars. **

Some names were changed to protect the innocent.

Join our journey and check out photos along the way at
www.sihpromatum.com

Map Legend  05/05/05 – 23/07/05

Dotted lines = Flights

Solid Lines = Travel by bus or train.

Dots =Places where we slept or spent time.

1.  Stop over Seoul.

2.  Starting Point Hong Kong with Sandra

3.  Yangzhou

4.  Kunming Stone Forrest

5.  Lijiang with Granny

6.  Lost in the Tiger Leaping Gorge

7.  Emei Shan – Sacred Mountain

8.  Panda Sanctuary nearby Chengdu

9.  Songpan three day Horse trek

10. Three day Yangzi boat cruise

11. Xi’an Terra Cotta Warriors

12. Beijing and Great Wall of China

13. Ulaanbaatar

14. Two week loop with Baagii

15. One week excursion with Future

16. Stuck in the Gobi Desert

17. Train headed to Russia

Prologue

His elongated shadow seemed to be one of the few anchors left in the desert.

“Do you think Future will come back?” I whispered to the solitary camel standing beside the van. My words expressed doubt, if only for a moment, wondering if our Mongolian guide had just abandoned us. But no. He was also our friend, and I knew we were all in this together.

“He’ll come back.” I guess Mom had been listening, and she affirmed my gut instinct about Future. “If he can, he will.”

“If he can,” I echoed with a profound sense of foreboding.

Her words reminded me of the seriousness of our situation. This wasn’t just a game. It was real life, and I was all too aware of the perils we faced. Reaching toward the camel, I placed my open palm against the dusty window. Gazing into eyes that resembled golden flakes of sand framed with lavish dark lashes, a strange connection sparked between us. Maybe I was looking for reassurance of some kind or to somehow humbly share his intimate knowledge of the desert. My attention was diverted to my hand at that point and I thought it should have been sweaty or at least a bit moist against the glass, but I was already severely dehydrated. Every nail bed and wrinkle was caked with dirt.
What happened to you, Savannah?
I wondered, crinkling my forehead. This was not the “me” I remembered.
Where on earth did you go?
I asked myself.

Chapter 1

“Like, Totally”

It was May 5
^th
, 2005 and I was reluctantly boarding a plane bound for Hong Kong. A whole new life was waiting for me, one I had absolutely no interest in living. As I took a cramped seat next to the window, I asked myself,
what the heck happened to get me to this point?
Listening to the pilot’s confirmation of our destination, my young heart spun in my chest. As the engines roared and readied for take-off, my mind rewound five months to the last time I had enjoyed a final glimpse of normality before the turmoil of my deteriorating world hit me like a sledge hammer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Savannah, where are you?” I heard Kelly say, but she didn’t mean it literally. A lot had been on my mind since my parent’s separation, but the waving hand in my face brought me back with a start.

“Yah, you should totally get the pink one. That is so sexy,” I said reflexively, noticing her well-developed figure.

She lunged through the hangers to reach for the last hot-pink T-shirt on the rack. Tidying herself and tucking loose red locks behind her ear, Kelly babbled on excitedly, “Hey, so did I tell you? I, like, totally found some receipts on my parents’ dresser, and I am, like, almost one hundred percent sure my daddy’s getting me an Infiniti G35 Coupe for my Sweet Sixteenth!!”

“Oh, wow,” I simply said, trying to perfect the “Oh yah, that expensive thing, I know exactly what you’re talking about” tone in two words, and I think it worked. She had no idea that I
had
no
idea what, exactly, she was talking about.

Terri was in the change room, and I felt slightly abandoned being left alone with this Kelly person. Because I was shy and had attended so many different schools, I didn’t have a whole lot of friends. My title was always the same – The New Kid. As soon as I’d start to fit in, we’d move again. Our little outing with Kelly was actually Terri’s way of helping me to expand my circle of friends. Terri, with her tanned skin and dark, thick hair that came to her waist, was the Jiminy
Cricket on my shoulder, the combined angel/devil, a sister from another lifetime – my best friend.

“You’re so lucky. I’m totally jealous,” I said, playing it cool and trying not to look too desperate or low class.

“Oh, shut up! I’m sure your parents will get you something amazing. You just have to wait two more years!” I couldn’t tell if she was mocking me or not.
Could she really be that mean? Or is she simply clueless?
She didn’t seem to grasp the effect her words had on me.
Is it my own insecurity?
I looked inquisitively at her with slightly narrowed eyes.
Does she feel superior because she’s older and getting her driver’s license? Or is she taking a jab at me ’cause she knows my parents could never afford to buy me a car, let alone a Mercedes?

“Hey are you coming to my party? It’s going to be epic,” she went on. Clearly, she had not felt my awkward tension.
I’m in the clear!

“What do you think!?” I replied, as if to say, “DUH! Of course! Where else would I be?”

As Terri came around the corner from the change rooms, she said, “I’m buying this, then let’s just go. Our appointment’s in ten minutes.”

Kelly beat us to the cashier and was waiting to pay her grand total of three hundred and fifteen. Glancing at my almost empty hands, she asked, “Why didn’t you get anything?”

“I did,” I said, holding up a clear bag so she could see the lip gloss.   

“Ok, but seriously! That doesn’t count. I mean, those shoes were so hot on you,” she insisted.

“Yah, you’re right. I probably should’ve got them,” I agreed, to avoid the embarrassing, “I don’t have any money to spend” explanation. They each had their father’s credit card, but I only had fifty dollars. If we were going to go for manicures, I should probably come home with my nails done, rather than shoes. Going out for a nail date and not getting your nails done would basically be a social disaster.

We quickly made our way past the mall’s early winter shoppers, up the escalator, and through the glass entrance to the beauty salon.

“Yes, we have reservations for one o’clock,’ Terri said to the little Asian woman standing behind the desk.

“Terri? For three?” she confirmed.

“Yup, that’s us.”

“We’ll be with you in a moment. Please have a seat over here so you can soak your hands in these basins,” she explained before she returned to reception.

“Thank you,” we said in unison, then giggled.

“Where do you think she’s from?” Kelly asked in a half whisper.

“Probably China,” Terri guessed, dropping her bulging bags on the floor at her feet.

“Who cares?” I said, waving it off as I pulled out a comfy leather chair.

Kelly wriggled in her seat and fluffed her hair to draw attention before she announced, “So, did I tell you guys I have a new boyfriend!?”