Since my last entry, things have gotten out of hand. My life became a dream. While in China, I swam in the China sea, fed a baby tiger, and was picked up by an elephant. There was a day when I walked the Sacred Way, did a cartwheel on the Great Wall of China, and visited the tomb of an ancient emperor. I've seen the Terracotta warriors and the Wild Goose Pagota. I rode a bike along the wall of Xi'an and went shopping in the underground markets of Shanghai. While teaching, I fell in love with my students. I slept on a hard bed and showered with a hose, I got used to squatters and travelled for 30 hours on a train.

Now I'm back home, looking out across the snowy landscape. I've done things in China that I never thought I'd get to do, but there truly is (pardon the expression) no place like home.