Feels like home

I'm back in the States! We are off for two weeks for the Chinese New Year holidays. Friday was supposed to be a half day at school but it was canceled due to an ice storm predicted and on the way. Guess what? It never came.

No worries, we headed off to Shanghai, which was the original plan anyway, but this time we got to sleep in and not hurry to the train station from school. We get to Shanghai, check into the hostel and went to the Xin Tian Di district where we had something to drink at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Storm or not, it was VERY cold and windy outside! Afterwards, we met with Ric and Gin, who were going off on their own adventure, the next morning. We had a lovely dinner at Din Tai Fung. It was delicious! I know of this restaurant from Taipei. It was far more expensive but such a nice treat from our SIP typical fare which I consider neither Western nor Asian.

We had some Starbuck's after dinner and then it was way too cold to do anything else after that so we said good night and parted ways. The next morning, we woke up for an early lunch and then walked around but it was too cold and there was nothing to see. Then, we went back to get our stuff and took the familiar path to the Maglev to the airport. We were on our way to Shenzhen, where we could take a bus to Hong Kong. If you are a follower, you may remember that we went to the wrong airport last time to catch the flight to Shenzhen. This time, it was correct. Yes, we checked.

We had a great weekend in Hong Kong, food and sights and views and all. I got to meet up with Meghan and Jill, who I met at the job fair. They were traveling with another teacher from their school in Korea. We had a fun day going on the cable car going up to see a giant Buddha. The next day, I was off on a multi-legged trip to New York City. Bus to Shenzhen, flight to Shanghai, Shanghai to Chicago, Chicago to New York City. It all went without a hitch, and in fact, all the flights landed early, giving me extra time to find my way.

As soon as I landed in Chicago, it felt like home. Everything was in English! And I was reading every sign simply because I could! I saw Obama everywhere. I mean everywhere. Newsstands, shirts, mugs, posters. It was Chicagobama, after all.

Going through security to get into the domestic terminal, I had to laugh. There was a traveler who was playing the part of the stereotypcal American. He had too many liquids in his carry-on suitcase. But they were all beauty products, which is why I had to laugh. He had hair gel, shampoo, conditioner, cologne, you name it. TSA was taking each one out and this guy was freaking out. He kept yelling, "I don't know why you're doing this to me. Do you know how expensive this stuff is? This is $70 and this is $60... I can't throw this out. Why do you have to do this to me?" And on and on. The guard was quite nice, he kept asking him to calm down and told him that he just had to check this stuff in and he wouldn't lose it. This guy was beyond reasoning with and just kept yelling. So the guard has to pass it on to someone else to handle. Me, I tied my shoes and went on my happy way.

I am safe in my bed now, ready for a week of fun home-things.