The Land of Lost Luggage

Hooray I've found delicious food in China!  For dinner last night, a group of us ventured to a shopping and dining area a few blocks away, and decided on a place called Hot Pot.  At this restaurant, your waiter or waitress brings you a bowl of steaming broth, with floating spices, dates, and yumminess which is placed in the center of the table where there is a stove top service that heats the bowl's contents to a rolling boil.  Then your party orders plates of fresh vegetables, meats and ...
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Last night in a moment of confusion, I managed to get myself locked out of the hotel room.  I jumped in the elevator (which is lined with a matt displaying the day of the week in English and Mandarin, and changed everyday) and hoped the one receptionist who speaks English was on shift.  She was and by the time I had ridden the elevator back up to my floor, a maintenance person was waiting at my door to let me into my room.  These people have an incredible sense of efficiency.  

For example...
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After a long day of work, we were released from quarantine to eat at the restaurants a few blocks from our hotel and to explore the several levels of Carrefour, the local supermarket. Once the wall of humidity hit us as the sliding doors to our hotel opened, we were like kids in a candy store.  It's amazing what a few hours held up in a hotel can do to the spirit of a bunch of twenty-somethings.  We took photos, danced, even cried a little.  Ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but ...
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Yesterday I had the pleasure of experiencing my first authentic Chinese meal.  When I was younger, ev...

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                                                                                      With the economy in shambles the amount of discount airline e-tickets purchased online is increasing, and it’s hard to imagine taking a trip void of some type of layover.  Now I’m not usually one to complain about these stops in Podunk, New York or Kansas City, Missouri when I’m on my way to Orlando, Florida, after all it’s all about the journey, not j...

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I felt it the night before I left.  That feeling I get every time I leave home for an extended period of time, that homesick longing that always creeps up on me.  Senses are intensified and it suddenly becomes very, very clear how incredibly good I have it in life.  

I tend to pause when entering the kitchen, crowded with family chatting and children playing and flash a dreamy smile, like I'm reenacting a scene from "It's a Wonderful Life."

The annoying squeaks from the dining room floor so...
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