**This is a never-before-published journal entry from July 2008.
Well, I made it. I got back to Medford just in time for the 4th of July. The jet lag wasn't that bad...until yesterday. It was a feat of time travel, actually. I left Hong Kong International Airport at 11am on Tuesday, and arrived in San Francisco at 9am the same day. So I made it in negative two hours, net. Pretty good, eh? But a little confusing for the brain.
I've finished uploading all 1500 pictures from my various memory cards to my computer, so now all that's left is to sort through them-- I haven't even seen them all yet!
This trip has been the most eye-opening experience of my life. It's ironic, seeing as China is a self-proclaimed communist country, that it would be in this very country that I'd witness the greatest disparity of wealth I've ever seen- especially in such close proximity. Literally right next door to one of the tallest skyscrapers in Xi'an is an area about the size of 3 football fields covered in makeshift housing of cardboard, corrugated tin, styrofoam, and cloth.
What struck me is the generous and hospitable heart of the Chinese people. I visited the homes of several families who, in America, would be considered below the poverty line. Yet they were excited and more than willing to share whatever they had, in terms of food, space, and furniture, with us.
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