t-minus 10 hours.

This will be the last post from China. I board Delta at 10am. Then I take to the skies for 14 hours and then another 2 hours from Michigan.

As I mentioned in the last post I have since ventured to Shanghai. Needless to say I miss Suzhou. The hostel I'm staying at in Shanghai may have tainted my opinion, but I have not enjoyed myself. The hostel is in a building built in 1924 by a Jewish family. The building certainly holds these qualities of 1920s architecture and it gives a certain amount of charm. However, it is obvious that the hostel has not kept up with the uptake of the building as it is often unclean. The showers are infested with mold and bugs. My bed is nothing more than a piece of wood with some sheets placed on top.

As I exit the building I am greeted by the smell of garbage and b.o. Down the block is a street with vendors selling everything from vegetables, cellphones, and the freshest of meat. When I say the freshest of meat, I literally mean the freshest of meat. The street is full of vendors with cages of clucking chickens, quails, doves, toads, fish and turtles. The best part is the stench of fresh animal blood and the red stained streets. Needless to say my dislike of meat has only been intensified since coming to Shanghai. So much so that the smell of most meat causes involuntary gag reflexes. Since coming to Shanghai I have gone no where near anything that could possible contain meat, especially an unspecified meat. For instance a travel mate got a noodle dish called 大肉面, literally meaning big meat noodles. I have no clue what type of meat this is, nor do I think I want to know. I have ingested lots of bananas and ice cream since my arrival in Shanghai.

This trip has made me thankful to be returning tomorrow. I won't worry about what my food is. Also restaurant kitchens will seem like sterilized hospital rooms in comparison to the kitchens in China.

Nonetheless, my return tomorrow, though long, will be a welcome relief. I look forward to reuniting with friends and eating all the foods I miss most (CHEESE!).

See you all in the states.