I'm sitting here in the HKG airport lounge, after having just got off the 14+ hour flight from LAX. By some miracle, I got bumped up to business class on Cathay Pacific, which means I'm much more rested and less grumpy than I expected to be upon my arrival here. The coolest thing, though, was calling my parents' landline using the SkypeOut service. It's something like $.02/minute to call them, and they said that I sounded much clearer than I did when I talked to them via my cell from San Antonio. There's even an add-on called Pamela that is very useful; I've been able to record interviews with informants for my dissertation and save the files as .mp3s.
In a couple of hours, I'll be joining A in Bangkok. We're going to be in Thailand (first Chiang Mai, then Bangkok, then the beach) for two months. I'll be working on my diss (new environment = new focus and inspiration, I hope); he'll be working on a couple of research projects.
My parents reminded me recently that I've always wanted to travel - ever since I was little, I said I would be a "world-traveler" when I grew up. I feel so fortunate to see that dream become a reality.
Wow, this is like the most sincere I've ever been in a blog posting. Hmm. Here's some levity to lighten things up - make an earth sandwich.
Happy travels.
