Well, this is it. I'm leaving tomorrow morning at 6 am for Pu Dong Airport. I will actually arrive in San Francisco earlier than my plane leaves. I have a feeling that will be only the beginning of the bizzare things I will encounter back home.

I feel like I didn't say much of a good-bye to Hangzhou this past week -- mainly because it's so hot here. There are plenty of bugs hanging out around these parts, including cicadas the size of a kitten. So I have to admit that I've spent more time in my air conditioned apartment than I should have.

Today I had one last bowl of noodles at my favorite muslim noodle place. It's really just a hole in the wall, but when I came back from traveling, I couldn't believe it, they put doors on their hole in the wall and purchased an air conditioner. Such a drastic change! I was only gone for six or seven weeks!

There was a cute little boy at the shop who stared at me and Joan while we ate lunch. (Although he looks a little cross-eyed in this photo.)

It's hard for me at this moment to really decide how much of an impact living in Hangzhou has had on me. I'm sure when I get back, I'll realize, bit by bit, just how much China has changed me. Or perhaps it hasn't. I'll just have to wait and see.