|  Conference is the place where one can relax with friends and family; friends that you’re too busy to contact during the semester but nevertheless who reciprocate care and feel equally guilty of carelessness.
Catching up with friends is great; singing in unison with several hundred other brothers and sisters is great; and gorging on chunky morsels of word-goodness is intoxicating. Unfortunately, despite all these, I was sometimes bored. Few workshops and sessions were scheduled in order to promote and emphasize “rest” time. Too few. But perhaps I’m too restless. Michael Card performed and taught at conference. Aside from having recently learned that he was the author of “El Shaddai,” I had known nothing of the man. He was down to earth during his concert as well as his teaching sessions, and in his teaching sessions he was incredibly knowledgeable and theological. I enjoyed it. After conference Jed and I spent three days in Chiang Mai. I thought three days would be enough, but I was wrong. It was too much. Two days in Chiang Mai is enough. Aside from eating and shopping, there’s nothing to do. Sure, the cooking class last year was fun, and so was the half-day safari; but do I have a desire to do them again? Not really. I’d consider doing a cooking class again, even though I’d forget it just like I did the last one. There’s just nothing that I have a burning desire to do in Chiang Mai. It is empty. And honestly, I don’t feel very comfortable in Thailand regardless of where I am. Thailand’s dark side is grotesque. I suppose all of our dark sides are grotesque, but Thailand’s isn’t only in the dark – it’s also in broad daylight. We flew Emirates Airlines from Bangkok to Hong Kong since it was half the price and an earlier flight than all the others. I was pleasantly surprised. The coolest part of the ride is that there is one camera on the nose of the plane and one on the belly. At any time, you can change the channel on the TV screen (there’s one for every seat) to the camera and see either the pilot’s point of view or directly below the plane. A master stroke, Emirates. I really enjoyed that. The approach to Hong Kong was hazy, so looking out the window proved pointless. However, with the TV showing the pilot’s view, I could clearly see the runway lights far in the distance; lights that closed closer and faster until I looked at the TV screen in the middle seat (which was empty, so I turned that TV on the belly camera) and saw the white lines of the runway slipping beneath us. Then we touched down. Two days later, Hong Kong set a new record for flights handled in one day. That has no relation whatsoever to anything I’ve said or am going to say, but I thought I’d give my two cents to the useless information junkies.  Hong Kong is still mesmerizing. Big city, big city lights…big city, big city nights…you keep me rockiiiiin’ (A Scorpions song). We spent a large amount of our first day hanging out with Helen. She’s from the hood, so she knows Hong Kong like her UC Davis hoody (sp?). She introduced us to some amazing bacon. Well, it’s not really bacon, but it kinda tastes like it. It’s dried pork – Hong Kong style. Good stuff. Expensive, but good. Anyways, we ate some beef, ate some spaghetti, drank some fruit drink stuff, and browsed a few C-bookstores. We also shopped a bit.
The next day we met with one of Jed’s acquaintances – one of his friend’s brothers – from the University of Chicago. We talked over dinner. The third day we spent with Sanskey! She came down to look at two HK universities she might attend in the future. We walked around one university for a while before we finally found the postgraduate office. Normally walking around isn’t a problem. This university, however, is nestled in some steep hills. It was a good workout. **Don’t worry Sanskey – I really didn’t mind!** After that we went shopping; Sanskey wanted to buy some perfume. Shopping in Hong Kong is quite fascinating. For one, you can’t escape. Everywhere you go there is shopping. Everywhere. I like to shop, and I like to watch people shop; and in Hong Kong, there are a lot of people to watch. For two…sorry, no two. After shopping we took the train to  Shenzhen Customs was a breeze. And once again it felt good to be back in mainland China. Felt like home. We grabbed a bite to eat and then Sanskey helped us find a hotel (thank you!). We were planning on leaving the following night for Guangzhou in order to spend a day with one of my Huaqiao students. The next morning, though, I got a text message from him saying he wasn’t going to be able to meet me (he lives a little outside Guangzhou), so we decided to stay in Shenzhen another night. That afternoon Jed and I got our plane tickets for Guangzhou to Hohhot. It took over 2 hours. It was really funny. The two girls working couldn’t get the computer to accept our names. It was quite an ordeal, though not a huge problem. They finally got around the problem, and we got our plane tickets. Then Sanskey came and we searched for an ATM where I could get money. Even the main branch of the Bank of China wouldn’t accept my card. Jed and I were getting worried, because we were running precariously low on cash. The next day, however, Jed and I found an ATM that worked – ironically, it was right next to the Bank of China. It was a China Construction ATM that worked. I didn’t care what bank it was – we needed money. Ah yes, I forgot to mention that the night before Jed and I went to Shenzhen’s 26th flower market , an event of which I have never seen the likes of before, and probably never will. A whole street is blocked off for probably more than a kilometer, and flowers line both the middle and sides of the street. There were so many people there we were walking toe to toe. There was a ridiculous amount of flowers, trees, shrubs, and various other kinds of flora. It was quite a sight. Our last day in Shenzhen we spent hanging out with Sanskey and her best friend. We had a good time hanging out at Starbuck’s, shopping a bit, and getting those oh-so-popular booth pictures taken. The day was unforgettable. Later that night, around eight, Jed and I set off for Guangzhou. We arrived at the East Train station, took the subway to the main train station, and stayed  the night at a nearby hotel. The next morning we woke up, took a taxi to the airport, and flew back to Hohhot. Inner Mongolia is a beautiful sight, especially from the plane. The hills, mountains, and plains were covered with fresh snow. The undulations of the land and the farmers’ fields were clearly marked by the snow filling the ups and downs, crevices and bumps. Well, we touched down, got our luggage, and took a taxi home. After a quick shower, I went with my teammate Sara to a New Year’s Eve dinner with one of our students (a class monitor) and her family. We ate at a restaurant just an aerobie’s throw from the university. It was our student, her  parents, her father’s parents, her father’s two sisters and their husbands as well as children – a young nephew and a senior high school niece – an older cousin, and me. The dinner was most excellent; it included several new dishes in Inner Mongolia. Most importantly, none of the food was strange, but normal and quite delicious. After the meal we went with our student and some of her friends and played with some fireworks. Later that night I went and took pictures of the fireworks. It was crazy. From 11:30pm to 12:30am the sky is continually lit. Before and after that time it’s mostly lit. I love the red lanterns in the windows. Unfortunately, I don’t have a tripod, so most of the pictures are shaky. I took some videos, too, so hopefully I can upload those sometime. This was my first Spring Festival in China, and it was incredible. I love it. The only downside is there’s no place to eat for at least 10 days! A lot of restaurants around here are still closed. Oh well. You survive. 
The housing right next to mine; yea red lanterns! 
You really have to be careful where you're going. People are shooting off fireworks everywhere. 
The air becomes slightly smoky. 
*cue angelic chorus* 
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