the shah-shank redemption

Life After China

I'm back in the US now, spending my last weekend in Boston. The China triip ended up very well. I had written an e-mail about my adventures in Shanghai; the rest of our trip was in Beijing. The day after we arrived we went on a 10km hike of the Great Wall. The location was about 4 hours outside of the city and we hiked on an old section of the wall. Some of the views were breathtaking and the hike itself was challenging. Minoti had to hold the hand of the "guides," who really just try to sell souvenirs. Beijing, as a city is more like Los Angeles- a lot of traffic. The air pollution is worse than Shanghai, but there are more tourist sites. We went to Tianneman Square, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and the Summer Palace. These were nice, historical places worth seeing, but the fun parts were just 'living' in Beijing. There is a quite a buzz about the 2008 Olympics already. I would suggest visiting China before the Olympics; I think things will really take off in terms of tourism and prices afterwards. And it's already a bit too 'touristy' anyway. Overall, it was an amazing trip. I could live in Shanghai with a bit of language training and I would definitely visit Asia over Europe.

Now I'm packing up the rest of my stuff in Boston. It has been an amazing four years here. When I walk outside the door and I can't believe I got to live in this beautiful neighborhood, with good friends right at my doorstep! Now I'm on to high-rise living in Chicago. I already know a lot of people there, so the social transition shouldn't be too bad. But working as an intern is going to be difficult. I'll probably spend a lot of time treading water to stay afloat. And I'll probably be really tired most of the time. But hopefully the year will go by quickly. I'm mostly sad about all the birthdays, weddings, and vacations I'll miss. I was looking at grandma's birthday pics and felt very sad. Too bad the schedule had to work out that way. At least everyone will be at the wedding in June, right?

Despite all that sad talk, I'm really excited to finally be a 'doctor.' I finally have a career and am no longer a student- yippee! In fact, I was just filling out fedaral and state tax forms, scary. And I'm excited to be moving forward with Ashwin. We are at a new level in our relationship. These days we talk about the future in terms of 'we.' My mom, who I now call "crazy mom," keeps saying I have a two year deadline. I told her if Ashwin and I make it the first year I'm in Chicago, then we'll probably be in for the long haul. He, unfortunately, cannot come to the wedding. He has to be the best man in a wedding on May 21 and can't get someone to cover him again. I'm going to puch a little harder, but it's not looking promising. Still, I want everyone to meet him soon! Come visit Chicago in the summer, I guarantee a good time.