Blogs from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, North America - page 19

It has nearly been 10 months since I made the decision to leave the corporate world behind in pursuit of an adventure. And now I find myself 1 day away from departure, sitting in my parent’s house with all of my personal belongs trying to figure out how one packs for an entire year. Over these last several months I have slowly been preparing myself for what is coming next - life as an English teacher in the Chongqing, China. I have been reading as much as possible about life in China, trying to pick up small bits of the Chinese I left back in college, and saying goodbye to friends and family. I hope to share with you my experiences, the people I meet along the way, and my perspective of living on the other ... read more

I arrived at my final destination around nine-thirty in the evening - tired, thirsty, and hot. Over the previous twenty-four hours I had made my way from Minneapolis, to Chicago, through Beijing, and finally into the sweltering third furnace of China: Chongqing. During those three flights and two layovers I sat next to a frightened Somalian on his first flight back to medical school, a boorish young high school student who snored all the way to Beijing, saw the glistening blue and white landscape of the Arctic Ocean, the expansive tundra that is Siberia, the winding rivers through Mongolia, and the bright blue roofs of Beijing factories. The only thing I wanted more than water at the moment of my arrival was sleep. Sheila was there waiting for me at the gate with a large white ... read more

Day 4 - Obfuscator writes: Perhaps it’s just the museums we saw today. Perhaps Minnesota museums are just built for, well, children. Or perhaps all museums are getting this way, and I just haven’t been in enough of them recently. We first went to the Mill City Museum, built in the old General Mills (Washburn A, I think) mill in Minneapolis by the River. Well, to be sure, that wasn’t our first stop. First we (today “we” includes male cousin, D, who graciously took off work and showed us around) went to the new Guthrie Theater, which boasts the longest unsupported structure in the world. Slightly reminiscent of the House on the Rock‘s Infinity Room, but so much less impressive. The Infinity Room gives the impression of a glass needle, while the Endless Bridge seems almost ... read more

Hi all, We have had just the nicest sendoff in Minneapolis. We had a few parties and were able to say goodbye to all the people we care about here. I only hope that we can make the same connections in California as well. We will really miss everyone. Here is our route leave minneapolis 7/23 Badlands 7/23/-7/25 Mt Rushmore/Wall Drug 7/25-7/26 Cody Wyoming 7/27-7/28 Yellowstone 7/28-8/1 Flaming Gorge 8/1-8/3 Rocky mt national park 8/3-8/6 Moab 8/6-8/9 Glen Canyon/lake powell 8/9-8/12 Bryce 8/12-8/14/07 Grand Canyon 8/14-8/17 Zion National Park 8/17-8/19 yosemite 8/19-8/23 sequoia 8/23-8/26 San diego yipeeeeee 8/26 Keep in touch. 2 days and counting ... read more

Day 3 -Departed 6AM CST Kickapoo is a very popular name through Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Corn is also very popular. Corny jokes in Illinois Benj’s truck still likes to run in 2nd. Mike and Mandie have whiplash. After listening to the same XM station (we really like it), and hearing the same commercials over and over again, you tend to hear them a little differently… Betty White will forever be known as the crazy old lady from Lake Placid, not the Pet Meds Plus spokesperson. There's this guy who makes a crap load of money every night before he goes to bed. By our calculations, he's gone to bed 35 times in the past 3 days. Dubuque is a really nice town. It reminded us of Wheeling…except it’s all bunched together and actually looks ... read more