Four cities, one suitcase
How Carrie learned to be at home everywhere, and nowhere.
My suitcase weighs nine kilos and hasn't been unpacked in three years. Chengdu, Shanghai, Beijing, Zhangjiajie — I live out of it in all four. People ask where I'm from, and I say: whichever station I'm standing in.
The hard part of guiding in four cities isn't the geography. It's remembering which city has which rhythm. Shanghai moves fast and wants efficiency. Chengdu sits back and wants a story. Beijing stands tall and wants history. Zhangjiajie just wants you to look up.
The trick I learned: don't fight a city's rhythm, ride it. I keep four small rituals — a noodle shop in each city, a tea house, a quiet bench. Wherever I land, I do the ritual first. Then I can be the local my guests think I am.
A guest once said I must get lonely, never staying put. I told her the truth: I'm never lonely. I have a home in four cities, and strangers who become friends everywhere I go.