Spun around!

When someone says “I feel like I got hit by a speeding bus,” I now know what they mean from personal experience. Actually, it was a cement truck and it was attempting to slow down when it hit us. Our driver was caught off guard by a parked van in the lane for the off ramp and hit his breaks just in time… that’s when most people look around and brace for the second impact…. which I discovered was a truck… and its screech was deafening.

With a steely crunch, our taxi was sent spinning 180° and left facing oncoming traffic. Our trunk was smashed into the back seat and glass showered over us. I checked my friend for wounds immediately. Neither of us got injured, thank God, but we were trapped in the back seat for a little while because the doors were pinched shut. We were lucky and I was bizarrely calm while my friend was passing out. I agree with people when they say “it could have been a lot worse.”

Taxi Side View

When we pulled ourselves out of the car my Chinese friend immediately quoted an old saying: “Da nan bu si, bi you hou fu” (大难不死，必有后福) which basically means that “If you don’t die in a big accident, then you must have more good luck coming to you.”

What will this mean for me? I’m not sure. I can’t stop thinking about how my life could have ended early, but maybe it was just a reminder that time is limited. There’s nothing we can do about these things and I think I have accepted that reality… It would be a shame to just let life slip by without making the best of it.

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