It looked like it had been a while since a Westerner had walked in. That was just the vibe I got when a little boy sitting by the door dropped his pen and stared at me, open mouthed. Chairs creaked as bodies turned to me. "Ni hao." "Hello." A woman motioned me to sit. Her face radiated with a smile, revealing her understated beauty. A menu was placed in front of me and I reached for my phrase book. I flipped it open, pointed to a word. They all crowded around to see what this stranger wanted. Beer. I smile and [View Full Entry]

---

---

The boys needed to get out. They had been fighting all day- not merely bickering as all brothers do- but throwing the kind of punches where you have to pull them off each other, like in a street fight. It was the first clear day in Beijing since I'd arrived. There was nothing to be crabby about, and yet we all were. The two littlest had to visit the doctor that morning for immunizations. Watching a child get a shot is torturous. Bennie wailed and looked up at me accusingly as I held his arms down. His eyes said, "how can [View Full Entry]

---

---

Call something forbidden and I will be that much more determined to get to it. We are all that way, really. Today, the Imperial Palace within the Forbidden City was swarming with thousands of people just like me ... hell-bent on seeing a place designed to keep the masses out. The emperors must be rolling in their graves. Wandering the miles of courts and apartments of courtesans, I am at once speeding up and slowing down. I lengthen my stride and gear up to see everything. I try to notice every detail, soak up millions of objects and feel every signal [View Full Entry]

---

---

Sleeping in airports can be a bad idea. I learned this the hard way. After a completely restless 12-hour flight, it was hard to ignore the impeccable international terminal in Tokyo. It was silent. And empty. I curled up on a couple empty chairs by my gate and sank into comatose sleep, occasionally blinking into conscious delirium like a trauma patient. Nearby conversations and announcements on the PA jarred me here and there, but I was at my gate, boarding pass in hand, right where I was supposed to be. Except that I wasn't. Individual names were called to new gates [View Full Entry]

---

---