- Traveller's Soul Inn Nanjing: a chic, swanky hostel for less than $6 a night. Everything smelled of cedar wood, the facilities were super comfortable, and they had puppies and kittens. It's located in a really cool complex that Karen said was like the Meat Packing District in NYC.
- Walking around the ancient city wall at night and watching people - young and old - exercise and do tai chi.
- Chatting with our roommate Estelle, a Chinese software engineer, about everything from whether or not a single-party system can be good for the economy to what Chinese and American cultures find attractive.
- Fuxi Temple - my first Confucian temple.
- Getting lost on my own and then randomly finding Karen in her bright red rain jacket and Beatz.
- Seeing the Imperial Examination College - about which I studied in several different classes - and walking around the Dragon Door six times.
- Dumplings.
- The dumpling-induced runs.
- Talking to my best friend for hours =)
- Learning that NY passed Marriage Equality, taking a step forward for American principles, liberty, and justice for all... and then debating it with people on Facebook.
- Walking into a literal hole in the wall and ordering random dishes in Chinese that turned out to be pig's face, duck innards, and chicken.
- The second bite of hairy, chewy, disgusting pig's face that almost made me vomit.
- More dumplings.
- The best wine I've ever had.
- Random fireworks.
- Being eaten alive by mosquitoes.
- Watching a grown man defecate into a river.
- The Nanjing Massacre Victims Memorial ... intense...
- Walking to the Purple Mountain through a beautiful park.
- Did I mention dumplings?
- Realizing we have the same reaction to seeing foreigners as the Chinese do - staring out of sheer curiosity.
- Taking a four hour train ride to Shanghai, buying the standing seats, but getting to sit every so often because of the kindness of the Chinese.
PS - 'Is it everything you want, everything you need?'
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