Home sweet home

After a whirlwind of final activities, a very rushed day of packing and cleaning, a day of hanging out in Beijing, and a very long day of travel I'm back in the USA. The last few days in Siping are a complete blur...I'm still not quite sure what all happened. I taught my last class Thursday morning and Thursday night was on an overnight train to Beijing with Seth and Sarah. Lying on the train, I realized I had forgotten to pack about 10 things I was planning on bringing...but oh well, at least it's not hard to find the things I want here! :) Friday night in Beijing, our friend Stuart took us to a new area. This "West Hutong" was yet another face of this very diverse city. It was lined with unique small shops, coffee shops, cafes and bars--and was like stepping into another world. We settled in on the rooftop of one of the cafes. The roof was slanted and scattered with all manner of leftover/broken chairs and tables--yet somehow this all worked together for a cool atmosphere. We sat drinking coffee, taking in the beautiful polluted red Beijing sky.

After staying out too late, it was an early morning trip to the airport. Seth, Sarah, and I traveled together to Tokyo, where they bid me farewell as I boarded a plane bound for Detroit. The flight was long, but the time passed quicker due to an interesting seat neighbor. After weeding my way through immigration and customs at what has been voted the worst airport in the country (see the current Newsweek), I sat in the terminal in "staring mode" for a couple hours waiting for my flight to Indy. I found myself incredibly distracted by the fact that I could eavesdrop on everyone around me. Another short flight and I was in my parents' car headed home for a nice dinner accompanied by a nice bottle of wine.

This Thursday the tour of the country begins as I head down to Florida for a week. After that it's off to one of my favorite places, Chicago. I'm getting quite excited to see and catch up with many loved ones!