我回来了! (I am back!)

I’m back!

Home sweet home. (the entrance to my apartment complex)



And Xinglong road where I live


The travel here was pretty painless. I ended up taking a shuttle from the New Haven R.R. to JFK. It was easy, not to expensive, and I met some interesting people. One of the guys who happened to also be on my flight was named Frank. He has been going back and forth from China for 5 years now and gave me some great advice about a whole host of things.

I have found that Westerners who spend a lot of time in China tend to look out for one another quite a bit. Every time I meet one it as if they see a younger version of themselves and wish to take me under their wing to help me along. I can't complain their advice as been invaluable. I will have to remember this as I start to spend more time here.

My flight took off at around 4pm. It was just a hair over 16 hours. I am getting pretty used to them now. As long as I time my sleep for the right times, my jet lag is really limited to a few days of getting up earlier then usual. (which is actually nice when I have to start working tomorrow anyway).

My flight arrived in Beijing with the perfect amount of time for me to get through customs, navigate the massive maze that is Beijing airport, grab a coffee, and stop for a quick bathroom break. I boarded at 7:35pm and arrived in Xiamen at 10:30pm. Lindon’s brother and Lily picked me up right away and I was back in my apartment sleeping within an hour!

Here are a few pictures that where interesting from the plane.

This is the Mountains of Siberia


And here is the night view of Xiamen from the plane.


Flying over Beijing and Xiamen I could see Gold and Red fireworks going up EVERYWHERE to celebrate the last day of the Chinese New Year. At one point, I counted 11 different spots where good-sized blasts were going off independently. Wish I could have caught them in a picture!

This morning, after I unpacked a bit, I decided I would go for a walk in the park where I had my adventure looking for pizza. It is actually beautiful! (And not creepy at all during the day haha)

Here is a picture of one of the random creepy status that popped out of no where in the night.



I had to laugh at my self. As I walked around I realized I couldn’t have taken a longer path then I did that night! There is a short path right out in the open if I had just gone left instead of right when walking in! Ah well, to quote Douglas Adams “You live and you learn. At any rate, you live.”

This park is however, a magnet for interesting experiences for me! As I was walking, I heard some music being played in the distance, so I took a wander towards it.

Here are some pictures along the path I took. It was well decorated for Chinese New Year.











Only in China would someone’s laundry just be hanging in the park haha!



Here is a picture for Rach from the old amusement part here. I know how she loves old abandoned stuff. (Im not sure if it is actually abandoned or just neglected... Either way, you won't catch me on it!)



Once I got there, the players where very excited to see me and asked me to come join!(Well I am assuming they did, I just saw them wave their arms indicating to come over and then they handed me an instrument) I wish I had thought to ask someone to take a picture, but I was so focused on trying to keep a rhythm on my funky Chinese percussion instrument that I forgot!

I did however get some pictures of the Chinese Fiddle player after our jam session had concluded. (This is the instrument I brought home for Dan for X-mas)



And as a special treat, some video of the players in the park!




It is good to be back!