The Return

Alright, we last left you with the news that we have a departure date and it is the 8th. Well, today is the 15th.

America - Korea - China	meat market
Mommy and Me class	tai chi in the courtyard

A week since our return!

Yes, we would have written a blog post a week ago but, ugh, jet lag is so fun. Just recently  the older members of the family - Dad, Mom, and Jenna - have overcome most of the joy that is jet lag, the singular experience one faces after crossing the International Date Line, thus putting him/her back fifteen hours. For those who've traveled long and far before, you will understand what jet lag does to your productivity.

BUT, now we are fourteen days in and jet lag cannot drag us down nearly as much, giving us the wonderful opportunity to post on this blog. The Xi'an-Seoul flight (for some reason, the only way we found out of China from Xi'an was to first fly to Korea).was at 12:30 in the afternoon, so we set out to leave at 9:30. A 20-passenger bus, loaned courtesy of a friend :), drove us to the airport.

The biggest worry while pushing to board the Xi'an-Seoul flight (apart from the extra luggage we didn't know we had until, like, the 7th) was Brodie. An unfamiliar environment, strange sights, different sounds - it was too much for our little bichon-poodle mix. He whined and barked and yowled throughout the airport, never stopping regardless of what we did to calm him. "If he doesn't stop," someone said, "he can't board the plane."

Thankfully, after all our checked luggage was sent and our carry-ons went through the first part of security, we found Brodie stayed quite quiet when Baba held his case. Occasionally he let out small yips, but the most frequent he made with Baba carrying him was an anxious whine.

Xi'an to Seoul was three hours; Seoul to Los Angeles was eleven or so. Because of, as previously mentioned, the International Date Line, the second plane landed in California the same day the first plane took off in Shaanxi. Korean Air provided excellent service throughout both flights.

When the plane landed in L.A., we expected to be in immigration for Matthew and Brodie for at least an hour. Au contraire. We were out of the airport in an hour, maybe less. In fact, no one even examined Brodie's paperwork! Ah, the world is a strange, strange place.

Once out of the airport, Baba called the van we reserved (they weren't waiting for us, as we told them we'd probably be out long after the plane landed, what with the long immigration steps we expected), and 24-7 Ride drove us about 50 miles south. There, a friend from Baba's old small group offered his home for us to stay until we had permanent residence settled.

And that is where we are now.

I'm unsure how one is supposed to explain this... this being-back-after-four-years feeling. The simple places, like In-N-Out and Trader Joe's, seem so much larger and brighter. The commonplace bits of Southern California, like blue skies and clean air, are noticed every single breath. It's remarkable how things you haven't thought about in four years are suddenly there, and all the memories of them pour forth, and you sit there thinking, "How could I have forgotten about all this amazing-ness?"

Yes, we will miss China. We made home in both countries - America and China - so there will always be a bit of home on both sides of the world.

balloon at the lake	Shanghai (上海)
	a wedding

But it truly is so wonderful to be back.

Our next step is to travel to New England to be with Derek, where he and his fiance wait for our return. To say the least, they've waited a while now.

~Abby

Now, please allow us a moment to reminiscence

for the first couple weeks only 11 Who needs spoons anyways? friends in the courtyard

young friends Wei Hong precious a suiting name

A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built of love and dreams. ~William Arthur Ward, Thoughts of a Christian Optimist