Going home temporarily

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After the crazy shenanigans last night I pretty much had missed all the sessions on the final day of Pre-con. I had a few hours to spare so I wander around the House of Friendship, a gigantic hall with various stalls either selling products (water filters etc.) or promoting a various cause (like a project regarding literacy). With hundreds of stalls it was quite overwhelming. They also had an area for a band, a childrens area, internet cafe and parade. One water filter was only $40 and relied only on gravity to pass the water though a 0.1 micron filter. It was also reusable and can be cleaned by backwashing it. Perhaps we could have a project to raise money to send these filters to areas where clean water is not available.

In the afternoon it was time to finally go home. I met two lovely ladies at the airport in New Orleans who were also there attending an Asian Studies conference. It turns out that we were actually sitting together on the plane. They were both doing postgraduate studies at UCLA and it was very interesting talking to them about pop culture, the education system, politics amongst much more which filled up the 4 hr flight to LA.

At LAX I finally satisfy my cravings for nachos, but to my disappointment they didn't put real cheese on top, just some yellow cheese sauce :( Nevertheless the beans and salsa were delicious! I also quickly have time to grab 2L of alcohol at a crazy price of less than $20 a bottle :O Unfortunately I won't be able to enjoy them for another 6 months. Thankfully, I am able to get quite a lot of sleep on the way back so I am not that jet lagged when I arrive back in Sydney. That international date line really stuffs me up as I arrive earlier than when I departed on the way there and on the way back I completely miss a day...

I stay in Sydney for 1 week (I initially thought it was 4 days until I pick up my e-ticket and check the dates. Luckily I checked otherwise I would have gone to the airport a few days early!). The week passes quickly as I try to juggle seeing all my friends before I leave again. On the checklist was pho with Russell, Luke, Lewis, and the rest of the crew, lunch with Lou and Jade, Epping with Mils and Nat and tying up a few loose ends before I leave again.

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