Merica.

This blog is my attempt at not going to sleep because it's not time yet. 

In other words, I just got back to America. 

No, not Tennessee just yet--I'm staying in LA tonight with Natalie because neither of us wanted to get home tomorrow morning and skip a second night of sleep.

Please excuse me if I end up using really poor English. 

This weekend was a blur of debriefing in Beijing in which we all (all the people in the Teaching Fellowship Program, that is) talked about our feelings but didn't actually feel anything because we were going through shock. 

It was in a nice hotel, there was a park, and I got to have Baskin Robbins in a waffle bowl (yay!). 

(Oh my WORD those pictures loaded quickly. Yeah land of fast internet!)

Anyway, we left China yesterday at 12:55 pm. We arrived in America on the same day, which is today, at an earlier time than we left. Trippy, I know.

I've eaten three breakfasts and two lunches and NO dinners in what has been essentially one day. I also watched Jack the Giant Slayer, Phineas and Ferb, and Cirque Du Soliel, along with beasting at Solitaire. I also read A Year of Biblical Womanhood (which was fantastic, by the way) and ate a lot of snacks. 

And I plastered my face to the window so I could see these sights: 

(that one was in Hong Kong)

I got stopped in Beijing security because of the jewelry in my carry-on and in Hong Kong security because of my tweezers (all of which they let me keep). And I think I confused the man at customs. 

Him: "This says you brought meat back with you...?"

Me: "Yeah. Chicken feet."

When we landed in LA, our whole group clapped and somehow I got "America the Beautiful" stuck in my head. 

After saying goodbye to all of our friends, Natalie and I went to the hotel and quickly started freaking out. 

We can drink the tap water??

We can put our toilet paper IN the toilet??

We can use our cell phones??

There's a coffee maker in here??

 

The man at Subway spoke English and referred to me as "Miss Love" after he rang up my card. The sky was so blue I didn't think it was real. There are Thai, Japanese, Chinese, and Mongolian restaurants here. A hobo followed us down the street, which we waited to cross until the sign told us we could. I was accosted by advertisements for donuts, cinnabons, and milkshakes. My stomach really hates life right now. 

As you can see, I'm processing and still slightly out of my mind. 

Tennessee tomorrow!