On Monday Paul and I flew from Ulaanbaatar to Beijing and from Beijing directly to New York City.  We were stood in the taxi line - Paul was heading directly to his apartment and I was headed to Chinatown to take a bus to Philly - when I saw my dad's friend Debbie.  Turns out she and my dad had driven up from South Jersey to pick me up.  Paul and I said our goodbyes right there in the taxi line, thus ending our two action packed months together.

While driving through Russia, Paul and I often talked about the first things we planned to do when we got home.  Not surprisingly, these fantasies revolved around food.  Paul wanted a proper New York style pizza, and I wanted to eat at my beloved Bread Board, a sandwich shop in Haddonfield.  I'm happy to note we both fulfilled our desires our first night back.

I should also note that my first night back I was greeted with a flat tire and a dead battery on my car, but have yet to do anything about it because I can't be bothered with car maintenance just yet.  I did, however, sit in the car for awhile (a Ford Explorer Sport) and was amused to feel how gargantuan it felt compared to our Nissan Micra.

So we've been home a few days now and have been relaxing while slowly getting ready for the upcoming semester.  Paul will continue with his master's program, while I will start my student teaching in a fifth grade class in Haddon Township.  Unfortunately Paul is still trying to overcome the stomach ailments he picked up in Mongolia, so send him an e-mail and wish him well!

Of the teams we met on the road,...[Read More]