“Guyana… that’s in Africa, right?”

This summer’s Earth Expeditions experience in Guyana was in many ways a culminating experience for me. It was my final EE before finally graduating, and I am at the precipice of starting my own nonprofit but also taking on a greater leadership role in my current (paid) work. I was also amidst the move into my own home and living alone for the first time, and navigating complex personal relationships. It was a lot to carry into an EE journey for ten days with a bunch of complete strangers, but once again the experience was inspiring and transformative in all the ways that I love about Project Dragonfly.

One of the most fulfilling components of the Guyana experience was the personal connections made with classmates as well as the locals in Surama. Every connection gives new insight and sparks interest in another person’s corner of the world, and I am grateful for the ongoing connections made during this particular EE. Since our time in Guyana, I have kept in touch via almost-daily text with a few classmates. It has been really neat to catch up about school as well as life, family, friends, and even professional goals. It is affirming to know that there are like-minded people in my corner, and the experiences we shared in the field are invaluable.

I also was fortunate enough to visit Robin at the Milwaukee County Zoo over the summer. It all worked out easily to coordinate with friends visiting family, and then drag them to the zoo as well. They were just as jazzed as I was about meeting Robin, seeing the elephant barn, and learning about the zoo’s conservation work. It was especially fun because my friend had grown up going to the Milwaukee County Zoo, and already knew the names of the elephants and had kind of grown up alongside them. She was arguably more excited than I was about the experience! It was also validating to have friends who live and work in an entirely different sphere (psychology) show so much enthusiasm for conservation and learn so much from our brief time at the zoo with Robin. It was clear from that short interaction how great of a difference a little environmental education can make – I have since seen my friend share the good word about elephants, particularly Brittany and Ruth, of the Milwaukee County Zoo, with a variety of different people in her and our lives.

Unrelated to Guyana, but I did another Midwest weekend trip to visit a friend and business collaborator more recently, and could not help but feel gratitude the entire time. I have made some priceless connections through this program and I am both overjoyed and grateful that they have extended well beyond the bounds of an EE or even a semester. I firmly believe these are lifelong friendships and professional working relationships and I can’t wait to see where they take us and our nonprofit.

Finally, and back to Guyana, I recently mailed the newspaper articles I submitted to my regional newspaper (doubling as my ALC) to Uncle Dan. Just sayin’, friends, it was only $3.25. It was worth every penny of the postage to affirm and share with our Guyanese hosts that their teachings extend far beyond our time in country. My title for this blog post comes from the many people I’ve simply educated about the geography of South America (and Africa). In fact, at the post office, noting the “S.A.” at the bottom of the envelope, she asked if it was in South Africa. Going a step farther, I was on a botany hike recently and shared about my recent travel to Guyana, and I have come to learn when people ask how it was, that my response is about the vast swaths of undisturbed forest, the generosity and hospitality of the people, and my love of the rain forest. Once I get past the venomous or parasitic things, I really love the heat, the lush vegetation, and living with the land in a rustic way. I had a hard time adjusting back to my work cubicle, staring at a screen, caring about social media, and especially traffic! I feel pretty fortunate to live in a place that I find beautiful and rural (which I prefer), but just the general American experience was unsettling for a time after living more closely with the cycles of the sun and closer to the land. I am grateful for the experience and a little sad to know that my EE times have come to an end. I have looked forward to this trip since first researching the Global Field Program and it is bittersweet to know that it has already come and gone. Thankfully, the memories live on forever.

I just want to live pura vida

This year’s Earth Expedition in Costa Rica divided my summer in a way that’s reflective of the Continental Divide that we explored in Monteverde. It was huge.

Cloud rainforest near the Continental Divide, Monteverde, Costa Rica.

I’ve been floundering a bit in setting my path since even before covid, but the pandemic forced me to reassess my life and has led to changes, big and small, that I both embrace and regret. The almost-year leading up to the EE was tumultuous for personal and professional reasons alike, and I nearly pursued the virtual option because I thought I’d be helping film a movie in August. Didn’t happen. Lots of things I’ve thought were going to happen lately haven’t happened. I am so thankful that I changed my mind at the last minute and opted to go to Costa Rica, especially after postponing my graduation yet another year in 2020 by not taking the virtual option – so I’m extra glad that I stayed true to my vision for the program this year and did do the field experience.

Late spring, I accepted a temporary low-paying summer job at my local conservation district. I knew when I took it that I didn’t want it – I’d actually called to turn it down, that I’d rather just volunteer with them, but she sold me on it and I accepted. What could 14 weeks hurt? The way it was handled and the content of the job alike left much to be desired, and I kept applying for other things. I accepted a job less than 24 hours before heading to San Jose, and looked forward to the changes in store for me when I got home.

Before, I was coasting
After, I would step up and dive in

Before, I felt aimless
After, I would have a sense of purpose

Before, I was anxious about the future
After, I would embrace every opportunity

Well, the first opportunity I embraced upon return was a training at a huge dairy farm in central Michigan. Talk about culture shock. So much corn, and Carhartt, and plaid. No masks, which in itself was culture shock after Costa Rica. I was skeptical, but I stayed the course. I finished the temp job and started a few weeks later at the new gig.

I was ready. I came back – not refreshed, but open to new ideas. I had experienced significant discomfort in Costa Rica. Between cold and rain and altitude and people (sorry – but aren’t we all used to our own little pods after months and months of quarantining?), I knew what it meant to tough it out. And finally things got better. We did a few cool events, and I’ve been, as I’ve put it to friends and family, “networking the hell” out of this time, which is both draining and rewarding.

Justin and I brainstorming what Sleeping Bear Wildlife Center could look like in Monteverde.
(This is such a terrible picture, but I’m so glad I took it; reminds me to stay the course, the dream will happen.)

But then, entirely out of my control, the committee at the state level changed my grant. I either stay at my office with coworkers I’ve grown fond of, or get hijacked to a new office and cover the territory I was promised. I am fiercely loyal. But I am loyal to people as well as my own convictions, and I am struggling with this. I need to decide by Monday, but I’m going out of town from tomorrow. I don’t want this to occupy my headspace while I am supposed to be enjoying time with friends and loved ones.

I had hoped writing would help me figure out how this divide, this pressure I placed on my field experience, could help me moving forward, but I’m not sure that it has. I know what I want, but I’m not sure if it’s possible. I have lots to do in the morning.

EDIT: 1 week later. I kept the job and accepted the new coverage area. This way I am less connected, and while I’ll bring my whole professional self to work, the generational ties and institutional (if you can call it that) knowledge of my initial territory will remove a personal element that I was somewhat hesitant about anyway. I don’t buy that things happen for a reason, but I do think they usually work out. Because I made the decision on Thursday, had a wonderful weekend with good friends in Pennsylvania, Tuesday drove by/ toured a house/made an offer (that was accepted within hours), Wednesday picked up my puppy, and now by the following Sunday night, I am relieved. I have a sense of what my next few years will look like, even though a few big pieces of my story remain unknown. Thanks to my field experiences – Baja and Costa Rica of course, but also other travel and study abroad experiences, I have a certain level of comfort with accepting what I can’t control, and embracing the unknown. Maybe once we close, we’ll be just one step closer to pura vida.

We have so many adventures ahead of us!
Unfortunately, Auggie is not convinced yet that car rides are a good thing.

Mexico: Baja California

Participating in Earth Expedition Baja trip 43 was a whirlwind 10-day experience full of learning through inquiry, facing fears and testing our comfort zones, and making some super unique memories. Existing purely in a new place, off the grid, with no ties to social media, work, or news for over a week was a refreshing change of pace. This is a form of existence that I wish I practiced with more intention in my day-to-day, simply being here now and appreciating places and my interactions with them.

In the first few hours of the trip, we stopped at a breathtaking overlook of the Pacific. It was here that we did our first journal prompt, marveled at the blue sky and bluer water, and started to understand the expectations and goals of the trip. Despite being literally foreign, the sight of a vast expanse of water and shoreline was a comfort among all of the new people, smells, and sounds. I grew up along Lake Michigan, and while it’s a far cry from the Pacific, I have spent much of my subsequent adventuring hours hiking, biking, and driving to beautiful overlooks, particularly of water, so this was a stunning way to mark a new adventure.

I identify strongly with coastlines and water. It’s either the Aquarius or the Michigander in me, but I am able to relate places I’ve been to one another based on their similarities and differences pertaining to bodies of water. Michigan is sandy and was formed by glaciers while the hills that cradle my East Coast rivers are rocky like Baja, but this is the only way in which they bear resemblance to Baja’s rocky coastlines. For that reason, because it’s something I pay such close attention to and wonder so much about I often wish I had had an opportunity to take geology classes. (Maybe someday I will actively pursue it.)

The unique islands scattered in the Sea of Cortez as well as the surrounding mountains tell amazing stories of how the region was created millions of years ago. I know much was volcanic and that Baja California broke from the mainland millions of years ago, but there’s so much more to understand about the places we saw, including both the area immediately surrounding Bahia de los Angeles and the route that we took to and from BDLA. (Although I still wish we had had the opportunity to see the dried basin of the Colorado River! Bucket list.)

The image below barely captures the enormity of the sheer rock face with stark differences in rock materials, boat for scale. What caused the distinct changes in color? Did these formations happen hundreds of millions of years apart, or only millions? Is there any way I can even begin to fathom what a big difference that is? Unbelievable.

Moving beyond the creation of the place, and looking at the plants and creatures that inhabit dry, uninviting desert landscapes, I am left with even more questions about how and why they came to be. Coming from a temperate climate full of deciduous plants, deserts give me a sense of melancholy. I want them to be lush and happy, not brittle and defensive and spiny. But that’s not what they evolved for and the plants and animals that evolved to withstand it are pros. And deserts may not be lush or welcoming, but their sunrises are certainly unparalleled, and that’s something that’s not difficult to appreciate.

photo credit: Rob Schultz

Finally, I think spending such a limited amount of time in a place will typically only leave one with more questions than answers, but that doesn’t stop us from taking it at face value, answering the questions that we are able, and simply being fully present there, in that moment. Below you’ll see me doing just that on the boat as we headed out to the islands. 

photo credit: Rob Schultz

Explore: Harbin in photos

best smell and most pungent lilacs I’ve ever experienced

St. Sophia’s – a classic Harbin landmark, Russian-built

the largest shopping street in Harbin – also Russian-influenced

the blue-eyed bearded monster, who attracted numerous stares and unsolicited photos in spite of Russians apparently being quite prominent around the city. It’s frustrating.

some northeastern Chinese foods

always gotta have the bugs, though…

stumbled into this park where there were bumper cars, caged birds, and pedal boats!

vast view just inside HIT campus, which the highway runs under

HIT landmark building, Soviet-built

CHILI KEEP RUNNING!!!!

another Russian building – this one turned KFC!

good street food can always be found just outside college campuses

my new favorite dish – the Chinese “hamburger” – diced pork, beef, or chicken with cumin and red pepper, green onions, and cilantro if you like it! 

Explore: Lost in Harbin

My hotel wasn’t far from Harbin Institute of Technology, where Luke and Alex have been studying abroad this term, so on my first morning in town I thought I could walk there easily enough. Another lesson in “China” – no. Nothing is simple. I got crazy lost and walked miles and miles, and finally by 1 pm decided to take a bus. But I did get to see places that I doubt many foreigners go, and it gave a good feel for the city, which has a lot of outside influence from Manchuria (historically and in place names, mostly), Russia (architecture), and Korea (didn’t really see it / didn’t know what to look for).

First impressions: this is the square outside the train station. it was deserted last Friday, but I’m glad not to have seen it during Chinese New Year, when everyone goes home to be with their families – I bet you couldn’t even move.

apartment complexes don’t look like this in Beijing. a chicken startled me just after taking this photo (it’s just outside the frame).

“Care for others, care for the society, care for nature.” (no comment)

was hoping for a river, but here are some nicely colored trains. Harbin, like Shenyang, is just “vast.”

but Harbin seems to be more crumbling…

I liked this wall. I was off on a street that is like a developing country’s variation on Home Depot, there were paint shops and screen shops, plywood, sawing, lots of home improvement stuff – but the condition of the street and shops could have used some home improvement, too.

last one. next will be pictures of places I visited intentionally. 😉

 

Explore: Dongbei from the train

Last weekend I had saved up enough for some much-needed adventure and a break from Beijing. Early Friday morning I boarded the bullet train for Harbin, further north than Shenyang (or I think anywhere I’ve ever been). It’s the largest city in Heilongjiang province, and it’s pretty darn close to Russia and Korea. The train took eight hours, stopping in several small cities along the way.

Waiting for the train. China doesn’t believe in lines, it’s everyone for themselves.

last breath of “fresh” air on the platform

unfinished apartments surely for the workers in the factory (below). this was prevalent during my Shaanxi/Shanxi research – a new factory was built and farmers-turned-factory-workers were relocated from traditional homes to apartments, all in the name of progress.

probably a coal or steel factory

development

farming community – see the city on the horizon though?

suburbs don’t exist here; this was on the outskirts of a small city

Much of the country’s cereals are grown in northeast China – a region called Dongbei, formerly Manchuria

agricultural fires – always adding to that infamous air pollution

Heilongjiang is a big hub for agricultural machinery. I read about it a lot, so this was kind of neat to see firsthand.

Explore: Beijing’s Central Business District

Though Beijing municipality extends across more than 6300 sq miles, most of this is rural. The urban portion of Beijing covers an area of 528 sq miles (according to Wikipedia), and much of it is quite low. On study abroad, there was a time that it freaked me out that Beijing didn’t have a “skyline” as we know it – it’s just a sprawling monster. Last weekend as Luke and I stood at the center of the city and looked to the east, there was one particular cluster of high rise buildings that seemed higher and more modern than the rest of the development on the horizon.  This part of town, between the Second and Fourth Ring Roads, in Chaoyang District, is the Central Business District, and I hadn’t been there much since study abroad, so I decided it was time to visit. Nearly every subway stop I exit at feels like a different city in itself, and the CBD proved itself to be a more comfortable, luxury environment than I’ve been accustomed to lately.

view of CBD from Jingshan (the “mountain” overlooking the center of Beijing)

 

SOHO buildings can be found all over the city outside the Second Ring (in the modern areas) – generally with crazy architecture. Some are cylinders, some look like beehives! Then there’s these crazy cube-like structures.

 

Tesla dealership in a massive mall … this is not my Beijing. (Yes, I know this photo would be more effective with the hood down, but I was afraid to touch anything in that dealership.)

I spy (coming out of the ceiling) …. a HAND. What?!

This is The Place (no joke). It’s got a 250 m screen that plays weird screensaver-y videos … and the news. It’s surrounded by luxury shopping and nightlife.

Classic, but we were in the CBD so I had to. This is the CCTV (China Central Television Tower), also known as the big underpants.

 

Beijing: A Taxi Angel?

Early this afternoon I was at one of the busiest interchanges in Beijing, and I couldn’t find my way to the proper bus station to take the bus to a different subway line (because nothing new is ever easy or convenient in China) to make my next meeting on time… not to mention that I forgot to put on deodorant this morning and it ended up being one of the hottest days thus far this year. I was worried that I would be late and miss out on a potential part-time interning opportunity and was hurrying along the sidewalk in what I thought was the right direction, when I made eye contact (through the fence that keeps pedestrians from crossing the street wherever they damn well please) with a female cab driver driving past. She pulled up to the nearest opening in the fence (still a few hundred feet ahead of me) and stopped the car. I expected that she was waiting for someone who had called her in advance or found her through a taxi-finding app – it is one of the busiest sections of Second Ring Road, after all, and I had already made eye contact with several cab drivers. I hate hailing taxis; it’s the small-town girl in me that I can’t suppress. Once I reached the opening in the fence, I rushed up to her window and she asked me if I needed a taxi. Now, I’ve been ridiculously frugal for the past few months so there have barely been any taxis in my recent history and it was barely within my budget until my next tutoring gig, but I knew it would be somewhere along the lines of minimum fare (it was an easy jaunt a few kilometers NE; I needed to get to the subway that runs along Third Ring Road, and I was at the Second Ring – basically concentric circles without another line to connect them at the NE corner) and I couldn’t believe my luck/her intuition… so I said yes, I need to get to Sanyuanqiao Subway (which I still needed to take another stop, but I couldn’t find any of the proper buses) and hopped in. She cruised through the four-lane roundabout and somehow hit every red light, but little traffic. Partway through the drive she turned around and asked if I just needed to get to the other subway line or if it was Sanyuanqiao specifically. I breathlessly answered that I just didn’t know how to take the proper bus, so she suggested dropping me off at the closest stop on Line 10. I paid 14 RMB (2.25 USD and only 1 RMB over minimum fare) and she smiled and wished me a good day as I left. Maybe this just sounds like the rant of a lost foreigner, but please consider that very few people in Beijing are intentionally helpful (unless they’re your friend or want something from you). As far as I’m concerned, this female cab driver was a ray of light in this smoggy, car-congested city, and I am going to think of her as my taxi angel.

Beijing: Everyday

Lately my Beijing has been a world of warming weather, greening trees, continued smog, and work. I’ve started working three days per week, physically visiting my internship once per week, and I’m still tutoring in the evenings. I now have six students – Alice, who celebrated her 11th birthday on Tuesday; Jason and Stone, the basically fluent 7 and 5-year-olds who like to throw tantrums; Michelle who is ten and told an elaborate story (with pictures) about how she used to have hamsters, but they died; and Ben and Jerry, 5-year-old neighbors who are learning letters, numbers, and other words. They’re all great, and I am coming to really love tutoring.

My job at the Chinese office is a light workload, which I’m afraid may be ruining me as far as other jobs in the future. Last week a group of nine of us went out to about a three hour lunch. We usually just eat at the cafeteria, which takes 20 minutes, but instead we left campus and went to a restaurant that is like a cross between chuanr (“chw-ahr” – food on skewers) and hot pot (a boiling pot of broth on the table that you dump meat, vegetables, noodles, anything edible, into). We went up to a big refrigerator and loaded up several trays with assorted pre-skewered foods and brought it back to the table where we boiled the heck out of it all, and then downed it with sesame sauce. At the end, the restaurant workers count the number of sticks left. Wasteful (or they probably reuse them), and that’s your bill – 1 RMB per stick. It was fun to go out with everyone; I’m generally quite quiet but warm up to them and speak more each time. At one point one professor asked if I wanted to try something, then added my name, “Sam? ….. Francisco!!” he threw in at the last moment, and everyone cracked up. Kind of embarrassing – but hey, they don’t use my Chinese name!! So I guess I get teased. All in good fun!

lunch at the microbrewery near my American office

Ben trying to remember numbers:

[Counting through ten, prompting 11] “Seven-eleven!” (His mom says he loves to go to 7-11 for treats.)

[We’ve clarified 11, prompting him to say 12] “Eleven-two!”

Gah, so many others I can’t remember!! Then there’s Jerry, whose class immediately follows Ben’s because they can’t concentrate when they’re together (tried that). Jerry is a real beginner and is always confused and seems terrified of me, but he’s super adorable. Jerry loves to draw, Ben not so much – he wastes time complaining about the markers. Very cute, although a bit frustrating.

Jerry following directions by drawing a crazy monster-man

The weather is warming up, making me homesick for summer in northern Michigan. This will be the first time I’ll have missed a whole summer at home. I’m not looking forward to it! It also becomes more annoying to wear a mask on high-pollution days when it’s 75-80 degrees out. Everyone still wears long pants, sweaters, and jackets… I just can’t, I’ve been getting a lot of stares, and every time I show up at Alice’s door they ask if I’m cold and insist that she put on a hoodie, I think just to make a point. I’ve now borrowed coats from two of the moms on separate occasions, and not because I asked for one. Apparently in spring you wear more, but in fall it’s okay to continue wearing summer clothes later… my logic is opposite. I can’t change it. I won’t.

We recently got our air conditioning installed. Things are just done differently here. Below is a picture from the installation – keep in mind we live on the fourth floor…

didn’t want to be conspicuous, but yes, those are ankles…

Today I was the center of attention when I bought the wrong mop for our recently-hired ayi (“ah-yee” – maid). She said the one I purchased wouldn’t work and when we tried to return it to the little shop (I should take a picture of one of these types of shops – you wouldn’t believe how much stuff can fit into a tiny room), the shopkeeper and my ayi started fighting because it was “open.” By this we mean that the dusty plastic bag – not even real packaging, just a cheap baggie – had been taken off so we could see how it worked. A crowd gathered. I tried to look as innocent as possible (although I couldn’t quite muster up tears) as they fought over the fact that she had overcharged me, I’m a young foreign girl and how would I know which mop to get, etc… So that was a stressful start to my May Day holiday, but the apartment is nearly clean now (although she chose to clean the floor instead with a cloth and bowl of water, rather than just accepting that mop this week; the woman took it back when I got the bag from home on my third trip back and forth at 8 am). I skyped my mom and showed her my place because we finally got internet installed, the sky is blue – factories are closed for the holiday – and I’m hoping to go out sightseeing shortly! Things are always getting brighter!

the stores outside the Buddhist temples nearby

I’ve been looking for a good duvet cover print recently… how about this one? (made of cotton cotton cotton)

 

“good luck” apples… kinda weird, gotta be honest…

free pizza at a grand opening event last weekend; my roommate Rob was disgusted by the fact that it was “aubergine pizza, it should be free!”

cold noodles for lunch yesterday – most street food is prepared on the back of a bike. this one looked particularly clean!

Explore: Xianggang

One of the stipulations of my China visa is a requirement to leave the country every three months. If you’re here for any length of time, this can be a bit routine and tedious, but it’s still pretty new to me and I was excited for the opportunity to get out of Beijing and head to my favorite city on this side of the planet and possibly in the world.

On Thursday morning I woke up early and took the Airport Express (pretty convenient from my awesomely-located apartment) to Capital Airport, then boarded a flight to Hangzhou (favorite city in China and where I told myself I’d live if I came back…). After wandering around the eerily quiet HZ airport (compared to Beijing) and finding my way through customs, I was on a flight to HK. Direct flights are desirable, but two two-hour flights were pretty refreshing, especially considering that my last flight was 13 hours + a delay… and I kind of hate flying.

The Hong Kong airport is located on its own island, and you’re only a few stories above the sea before the runway appears seemingly out of nowhere. Then you notice the mountains and greenery. Fantastic from the start, despite a bit of smog drifting over from the mainland.

I maneuvered through customs (no more passport stamps! I was devastated – that’s half the reason I travel internationally!) and made it to a double-decker bus headed directly for my host’s district, Sha Tin. I scored the front row on the second story of the bus. The woman next to me dozed. No matter how long I live in HK, this ride will always be an adventure. It was beautiful – jungly and mountainous, with skyscrapers and cargo ships and blue water.

I ended up taking a taxi from the MTR stop to the house because I didn’t have proper bus change, and it just seemed easier. I arrived before the Tos got home, so I went for a walk up the mountain to check out a neat vista overlooking Sha Tin. I didn’t find it, but I did see a ton of monkeys in the trees and walking along the railing. I was elated – I’ve never come across wild monkeys! (But to the Tos and their family friends the monkeys are garden pests like rabbits or deer. Still elated.)

That night I had dinner with my hosts – my college friend Nick’s family (whose house I had stayed at over winter vacation while on study abroad in 2011, and where we stayed this trip as well). It felt good to be “home” and to have a delicious home-cooked meal with fresh vegetables, cold water, and fruit for dessert.

Luke and I had planned to meet in HK, but he got in late, having flown into Shenzhen, a city on the border of China. He took a taxi all the way to Sha Tin, in the New Territories, after 2 am. Despite having arrived so late, we were able to get an early start for our two days in HK. I began the tour by heading to Victoria Peak, which overlooks Central and Tsim Sha Tsui – basically downtown HK – and a jaw-dropping view.

The Peak Tram shoots you up the face of the mountain and drops you at the top, which is a bit touristy. We walked around the entire peak. The weather wasn’t super clear, but that kept it from being ridiculously hot.

After an 8 USD ice cream cone, we headed back to Central District. I scoped out Louis Vuitton wallets for my boss, who had given me money to buy her something (luxury goods are cheaper in HK because they aren’t taxed – but still ridiculously expensive). We took the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour and I maneuvered my way – I remembered! – to one of Nick’s favorite on-the-go restaurants, Ebeneezer’s. It’s like fusion Indian-English food, tikka masala over fries and amazing shawarma. We were famished. Luke insisted it was one of the best meals he’d ever eaten. Possibly an overstatement as a result of the hunger and warm weather, but it’s pretty darn tasty nonetheless.

We got a little lost after this on metro transfers – coming from Beijing, which has the 3rd-longest and busiest metro system in the world – it was too straightforward. Wandered through Kowloon Park, which is a fantastic place to be lost, if you’re going to be lost.

That night, the Tos hosted a barbecue in the back yard, and – unlike the Qingming Jie celebration earlier that week – had a smorgasbord of delicious foods across all categories of the food pyramid. Family friends came over, people I’d decorated gingerbread houses and shared Christmas dinner with two years ago. I ate until I was comfortably full. Then had a brownie with raspberries because, honestly, who could say no to that?! And no monkeys.

Briefly considered going out that night, but it had been a long day and I will have plenty of time for that when I move to HK. Instead stayed up late talking to Nick’s mom aka my Hong Kong mom. She also went to Kalamazoo College and has a home in northern Michigan, plus we both know Nick pretty well, so there’s plenty to talk about!! : )

Day #2 was a whirlwind. I’d intended to go biking or to the beach, but was hoping to earn some guanxi – Chinese connections – by buying the LV wallet for my boss, so we headed back to Central and made a crazy purchase.

Star Ferry again (I’ll never understand those who choose to go underground when you can take a boat!).

Then we wandered around near Yau Ma Tei and the Tin Hau temple – a goddess of the sea and 100+ year-old temple – and ended up bargaining at Mong Kok market.

Central and the Hong Kong island side are pretty cosmopolitan and Western, but Mong Kok is more like China (yet still with the amazing characteristics that make it HK).

After leaving Mong Kok, we were caught up in a whirlwind of packing, car to train and train to border crossing, customs, a crazy taxi ride across Shenzhen (we realized we hadn’t budgeted enough time to get to the airport before our 9:45 pm flight), and a sprint to the opposite corner of the massive domestic terminal at SZ airport – without stopping for food – until boarding the plane, when they closed the doors and announced that we would be delayed for an hour on the tarmac.

Welcome back to China.