sweaters?

Laura just called me last night! I really didn't expect to hear her voice for a couple of more days, but she was calling from her apartment in China! I leave today on a train to travel 3 days to get to her, but I feel like I'm going to see her today. Equipped with my new electronic Ch/En dictionary, I hope to encounter many learning experiences on my trains! I switch trains in Xian on Tuesday.

This next week has become a bundle of numbers to me and not days at all. Traveling plans have turned my week into chunks of time...hours of sleep...hours of awake spent watching my things and not taking food from strangers. I have no idea what will happen on this little sojourn of mine, but I am determined not to let the "i don't want to look like a tourist" mentality overtake my picture taking frenzy. It's too late not to look like a tourist since my roommate is letting me borrow her backpacking pack. It's huge. I feel like Pilgrim's Progress in it. 7 days of WINTER clothes. Books. Food for the train. A blanket. Shoes. It's still the tropical dog days of summer here, but Laura says she is wearing hoodies and shoes inside already. I suppose I should be glad to go now and not in the dead of winter where I will be fighting snow and bone-chilling winds. This is good. I can hack it.

Back to packing.