A watery question for bear bloggers!

Intrepidina the cricket stowaway in my suitcase made a ‘new leap forward’. She crossed an ocean, was cooped up in a suitcase and nearly died getting to her destination. Crickets, in China, are symbols of nobility, good luck and abundance. Also – of old – the Chinese considered crickets to be reborn relatives and would construct cages to keep them in – hence the title of this chapter, Cage. I, too, was caging myself in convenience, relying on my fiancé Chris for transport, as well more than I cared to admit when it came to keeping my bank balance a pale shade of pink rather than glaring red. It was not for a lack of trying to ‘make it’. I was jumping from one project to another in futile attempts to find the best poetic or tea related money-making ventures, and ignoring the two things I craved more than anything: freedom and solitude. In addition, without a car, paying regular visits to ‘our mum and dad’ involving a minimum five hour journey. I had to take in all the delights that…