Back in China, after a lovely month spent at home. I've got somewhat mixed emotions about my return; after nine months away from the US, I hadn't realized how much I missed it until I reached US customs. But being back here, I'm starting to remember a lot of the perks of living in China, like the fact that my socioeconomic status has risen about three levels in a day. i can run my AC all the time, take cabs, and not worry about breaking the bank. Anyway the next few months will be exciting, with visits from Liz and Mariel to liven things up.
As for my trip back, it may rank up there among my worst US-China forays. It's funny, each time I fly, I'm sure it must be the worst, but every single time tops the last trip in badness. And I'm always trying, like, a new airline and stuff hoping it will make a difference. Unfortunately, I'll never be able to afford flying Japan Airlines as I did my first few trips, and so I'll never know true airline happiness. they give out pockies and sapporo! Anyway, as for this trip. After staying up till four celebrating the 4th of July, I woke up at six to go to Laguardia. The first leg of my trip was uneventful. I was happy to note that the planes had personal tvs with a wide variety of options including episodes of The Office and Arrested Development, and as I dozed off for the one-hour flight from New York to Toronto, I looked forward to watching all of the movies during the 13 1/2 hour flight I had ahead of me. But on getting onto my Toronto-Beijing flight (after a 4 hour layover), I discovered that the international flights did not have personal tvs. how does this make sense?? why, why wouldn't you put the personal tvs on the flights where they actually need them, first? Another highlight of my trip was sitting next to an extremely flatulent chinese man. this, i would not recommend, especially when you're in a window seat and have no source of air. it blows. Oh, and the icing on the cake? Getting into the Beijing airport after 19 hours of travel, I discovered that they had lost my luggage. I am incredibly proud of myself for not breaking down and crying at this juncture, even though I am now without all of my favorite t-shirts, all of my jeans, socks, and underwear, and my glasses and contacts. and deodorant, which you can't buy here. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will turn up. if not, i'm gonna have to hit the mall.