My Upcoming Trip to China

It has been four full years since I flew back to China to visit my parents and siblings. Yet, flights between U.S and China have not been back to the level prior to COVIP 19 partly due to the strained Sino-US relationship since trade-war started. Most of Chinese Americans who want to save a couple hundreds of dollars have to fly through a third country/region, and be prepared to fly longer and have more stops.

After extensive on-line search, I finally settled on flights from Denver via Los Angelos, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and then by train or air back to the town where my siblings live and then wait till weekend for them to give me a ride back to parents’ house which is 1.5 hour away. The flights themselves will take 25 hours, but it will take much long if counting the time I leave my home in Northwest Arvada, Co to Denver International Airport and the layovers between points.  I must keep up my workout routine to endure the trials of the trip.

As usual, friends and relatives back in China value nutrition supplements from U.S. such as fish oils and  Co-Q10. I will also need to buy something for a 7-year old niece. Before I leave, I also need to take care of my house, plants, and tenants in St. Louis etc..    

What do I look forward to for enjoyment back in my birthplace?

what can I look forward to? Of course, on the top of the list is seeing my aging parents. I am planning to buy an electric bike for my father whose gait is now no longer as youthful as my mother told me. He is also a hoarder; perhaps I can help cleaning the house, and perhaps whatever my parents love. I know they have an informal band with next-door neighbors–they will appreciate a sound system.

I also look forward to rebound with my siblings and their family. Living abroad over 25 years, they are becoming strangers in a way. My sister’s 7-year old daughter is adorable and fun. Perhaps I can spend some time with her. The only problem is that she is already busy as a kindergardener. She has ballet class and basketball class weekly.

I look forward to eating fresh vegetables my parents grow and perhaps pickles they make;.one big complaint about U.S. life is that nearly all food sucks varieties of vegetables sold in grocery stores are small.  Additionally, despite they all look colorful and fresh, the taste is not. Tomato barely smell like tomato; neither is its taste. Chicken taste like wax, so is pork.  The list of American food that I enjoy is short:  aged hard cheese, red wine, croissant, fresh berries, and apricots.

I am a stranger now in my birthplace; perhaps I can bike-cruise my hometown to see the changes of the place and people and photograph them; this means I will need to take my camera gears with me.

Career-related

In my current position, as the only research-active professor in the department, I feel lonely and isolated professionally. I am planning one or two trips to meet with colleagues in a few major universities in China.