The Sun Rises in the East

I wonder sometimes about the Age of Exploration.  How it must have felt to sail off with a primitive map of the world in your head and, well, run into America instead of India.

We live in an age where Google Maps lets us peer down on nearly any place on Earth (even if, occasionally, it gets things wrong).  Where we can consume innumerable photos and books and blogs about new destinations, sample food from around the world in our hometowns, and talk to people anywhere for free (thanks Skype!).  The internet lets us see the world from home, and lets us see home from the world.  The world is much smaller than it used to be.

And yet, when I travel to a new place, it still feels like uncovering a new part of my map.  For a year, we talked about moving to Shanghai (or Beijing, or Hong Kong, or Tokyo. It was a confusing period), and I drew a picture of Shanghai in my head based on the stories of others.  But I didn't really know what Shanghai meant.  What it would feel like to stand on its streets, shop in its grocery stores*, talk to its people.  What life there would look like.

For those of you back home, here's a glimpse of Shanghai through my lens.  To really experience it, come visit!

View from the financial district on a foggy day

A mixture of old and new, near Yuyuan Garden

Playing ultimate frisbee under the watchful gaze of General Mao

*I really enjoy checking out things like grocery stores in new places.  Glimpses of normal life.  In China, for example, many types of body wash advertise their skin whitening effects, while the fruit stands offer cheap, delicious fruits that we never see in the US.  

Delayed

I was supposed to fly east (actually west -- I connected through LAX -- to get to the East) on Halloween.

The weather had other plans.

Hurricane Sandy

The storm didn't seem so bad from inside: gusts of wind, a bit of rain.  When things died down, we walked outside with a flashlight to find a very different picture.  Between downed trees and downed powerlines, nearly every street in our area was impassable.  Some remained that way for days.  Local schools were cancelled for a week.

We were lucky -- the "superstorm" knocked out phones, internet, and cable to my parents' house, but our power only flickered.  We lost a few big trees and, with them, some sections of fencing, but nothing hit the house.  Our neighbors were without power for over a week; we passed homes that were bisected by trees and rendered uninhabitable.  Areas along the shore were devastated by unprecedented flooding from the storm surge.

One day late, as the airports reopened and the recovery efforts got underway, I flew off to China.  Our Asian adventure starts with 7 weeks of travel on an itinerary that will be defined as we go along (not my usual mode of travel...), leading up to a move to Shanghai in January.

Six Months Ago...

(actually six months and two days, but who's counting?)

Edinburgh, Scotland

Just before leaving the UK, we snuck in a quick trip to Edinburgh.




Within an hour of arrival, B. had tried haggis (from Wikipedia: a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck -- heart, liver, and lungs -- minced onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours.  Not a particularly enticing description.  From several years of Burns Night dinners, I can say with authority that the food itself is generally better received than the description.  I can only personally vouch for the vegetarian version though.) and we were off to whisky tasting.  Clearly we had our priorities in order.

Haggis, black pudding, and bacon mash with fried egg at The Dogs

The world's largest whisky collection

Other highlights included castles (two of them, at either end of the Royal Mile), the Game Cafe, and hiking (Arthur's Seat and Pentland Hills Regional Park).  It was cold, wet, windy, and thoroughly enjoyable.

The wet view from our B&B

 

Arthur's Seat, Holyrood Park

Edinburgh, as seen from Arthur's Seat

At Edinburgh Castle

LOTS of board games (only a fraction are shown here) + good, cheap food = lots of happy gamers 

An incredibly wet hike

The Sun Sets on the British Empire

I spent four years in Cambridge, at a university founded nearly three centuries before Columbus sailed to America.  A place of tea and scones, Shakespeare plays, formal dinners in Harry Potter-esque halls, ceilidhs, punting, Pimms, and good friends.

It'll be a hard act to follow.

Cambridge -- St John's College

Byron's Lodge, my favourite place for tea and scones in Grantchester.  

Unfortunately it's not open anymore.

Punting on the Cam

A Backlog of Posts

It's been a while.  Here's a post to herald what should be a flurry of posts, internet connection permitting.

Peripatetic

In the week and a half since my last post, I've defended my PhD thesis (woooo!).  We've moved out of our flat in Cambridge, pared down our worldly possessions to just about what two people can bring onto an airplane (without exorbitant fees), and applied for our China visas in London.

Thursday is when our travel schedule really picks up.  In the week following, we'll be in Cambridge, Edinburgh, NY, and DC.  Then B. heads to China.  I'm stopping by New Orleans before flying over to join him.

3 weeks. 7 flights. over 12,000 miles.

I'd better find some good books to read.