Whirlwind of whoas

Hrm, that's a totally weird title, I know

I'm sitting in the Shanghai Putong International Airport, wondering how it has free, relatively fast [for China ;p] WiFi while I've spent the past month roaming the country - including large universities and expat coffeeshops - searching in vain for a signal that would stay connected for more than 30 seconds. IRONY... Because even in the States, in the best of airports, they make you pay something exorbitant for access, like $10 for a day pass or $6 for an hour or $3/minute. Lol.

Other than that, I do my best to love Chiner but I, like many others, have been frustrated by a lot of things which are nobody's fault in particular and everyone's fault in general. They didn't tell me luggage limits were 20kg >:\ so all those things I picked up for the Crossings girls and whatnot ended up being a horrific hassle. I honestly didn't mind it all that much, though - threw out my towel and sheet and espadrilles and things (goodbye college memories) to lighten up one of my massive Asian bags... went through the line carrying tons of weight three separate times. Lol. I finally started tearing up out of sheer annoyance while trying to explain myself for the fourth time, but the guy thought I was homesick or something and just told me to shush and he waived the whole weight thing. It did take an hour and a half, and I feel bad because it's an awful lot like using tears to get what I want... which I would neeeeevvvverrrrr do. O:-p J/k, but I really don't like that kind of behavior. However, it inadvertently happened so hey.

Michelle and I went for a final wonton huzzah before leaving the hotel area, then ingested a lot of dust on an hour-long open-window taxi ride. Good times. That girl and I have spent most of the last month together, and it's been good times.

We went back to Bonbon last night to celebrate being done. It was definitely a nice wrap-up. Before that we had a banquet involving the ingestion of yummy Chinese food, which is another fail-proof way to have a good time. I guess I'm recounting my adventures in reverse now, so Michelle and I also went to the Pearl Tower yesterday afternoon. The view was kind of awesome. Since CET was reimbursing us for the ticket money, we bought the 150RMB tickets to go up the elevators to the Space Module @ 350 meters. Craaazy. Nice pictures were taken. Good times were had.

I'm looking forward to Taiwan and Xanga and civilization and REAL food. ;);) Call me a little bit biased, but Taiwan's where it's at. I'm really, really looking forward to a week and a half of relaxation, sleep, healthy food, and writing. I've been waiting four years for this. :P If you're in Taiwan, I'd love to meet up and hang out - call me at (03)592-4855 or just Facebook me to set up a date. =] I'll go to Taipei for anyone! Haha.

Goodbye, China! Thanks for being good to me as best you know how. I'm glad to finally meet the storied home of my ancestors. I'm glad you want to claim me as your own. I'll get back to you on that, though.