Well I'm back. 33 hours or so of traveling and I returned. I've been here three days and feel I've soaked in enough to tell you my impressions. Compared to China, my first thoughts are that America is so comfortable, large, pretty, and generally more 'user-friendly'. I got into my house and took off my shoes and my feet sank into the carpeting. Carpeting! It's been a long time. I then started to snack on every food available (particularly cheeses) as my parents and I talked about all the things I had to do in the next few days; law school stuff, things before my roadtrips, etc. I went to bed at 4 PM, woke up at 5 AM. I'm pretty much back on track today.

I've seen a few friends now and it's great to see them, but I was quickly struck with the impossibility of being able to explain myself completely. And I'm reminded of how ignorant I myself was before about the Chinese culture and history. I mentioned to my friend Lindsay that only very recently is it common for the average Chinese to own a car (theorizing on why traffic is so insane there) and she replied "what did they do before, rent?" Oh boy.

The last few days were very limbo like. We got taken out for our 'last meal' about 6 times by different friends and coworkers. The best was going to Michelle's and my favorite local restaurant. At the end of the meal we told them we were leaving for America in 2 days and gave them a dollar as a present. They insisted we come the next day so we did. They cooked us a huge lunch and sat down to eat it with us, including French fries (which I've never seen in China outside McDonald's). To dip the fries in they had jam. When I told my favorite store I was leaving for good they gave me free pop and bottled water and tried to give me more. So that makes a guy feel appreciated. I did some last minute shopping and my bags were utterly stuffed. I was worried at every airport check (all 4) that they would say my bags are too heavy. But I made it.

Everybody asks what's next, what's next. I'm ready to stay home for a while in America. Certainly til I finish law school. After that who knows. Maybe Scandinavia.

-The Wandering Norseman-