One Day to Go

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I'm safe and sound back in Shenzhen after a month on the road. In 2 days I'll be on the road--or in the sky, actually--again, this time back to the US for about a month.

It was a fitting day. I was awoken at 4am for what should have been a 5am arrival, but before I went to bed last night we were already running half an hour late. I guess they forgot to tell the stewards that. So for 90 minutes we stared at each other groggily, not quite willing ourselves to go back to our bunks.

Arrived in Guangzhou around 5:30am and bought a ticket for a 6:41am train to Shenzhen. Arrived in Shenzhen around 8am. Took the metro and bus and arrived back home around 9:30.

What did you do this morning?


Did my laundry (to get it drying), showered for the first time in a few days, and tried to take a nap, but Anthony called within the hour. I think the guard let him know I was back. Some teachers and maybe Iris will take me to dinner tomorrow night. They want to bid me a safe journey and hear about my adventures. I've been offered the school driver to the airport, we'll see if that follows through--it would be cheaper than a taxi!

Spend the day with Carrie and her family. We ate at her former student's parents' noodle shop with her mother, son, aunt, and cousin. Then she and I went to the bank so I could change my money into USD. For some reason I just don't see the clerk at Target being keen on accepting a note with Mao's face on it. The bank couldn't exchange it since they need to input the person's name and Carrie was without her ID card. Apparently the computer doesn't understand English. So we went to a currency exchange hole-in-the-wall and I got a better rate than I should have. I'm fairly certain the exchange rate is around 6.83 or so and I think I got almost 6.9. I'm not complaining about a few extra dollars.

We then all met up again to get our feet washed and massaged. After a month on the road and lots of walking and hiking mine look less than beautiful. They feel great now, as does the rest of me.

Went to my favorite Muslim noodle shop again for one more meal. It tasted so good. And then, a fitting end to my year in Shenzhen. Someone tried to pick-pocket me! (Pick-pocketing is the main crime around here.) I noticed a man walking a little too close in my blind spot and moved. Didn't see him for a while and then I noticed a faint tugging on my purse. I whirled around and looked at him with a "hey, you idiot, I noticed that" look and he looked a bit confused as to why I was displeased and then quickly ran off in the other direction. The irony being that tonight I had less in my purse than usual. I only have about 10 RMB (about $1.50), a bank card linked to an almost empty account, and a cell phone that's so cheap he'd have to pay someone to take it from him. Ahhh, way to pick a target. Taking these two things into account, I have concluded that he's clearly not cut out for a life of crime.

And now I'm working on my packing list while still unpacking from my trip. I'm willing my laptop to charge its battery faster so I can start uploading all my photos.

The stories are written, the photos taken, now I just need to put it all together for your reading pleasure. And then I can relive my travels again.

See you State-side!

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