New York City - No idea how, but I got a job...

For years I envisioned about creating a life for myself in New York City, with this being the very reason for embarking on this 1-year America trip in the first place really, to see if I could actually do it. When arriving in Los Angeles back in March 2012 I thought I'd only stay one week and be in New York City straight after... it took 8 more months before I finally arrived.

When I did arrive I only planned on staying for 10 days max before moving on because truth be told I already had a flight booked to return home to Australia in only 2 weeks time! How completely unaware I was of what was in store for me...

So in an earlier post I mentioned how I was lucky enough to be offered to stay at a friend of a friend's apartment free of charge for 5 days, which was simply amazing really. Now the lady who owns the apartment, Tammy, is also a CEO of a digital research firm here in Manhattan, and while talking with her one day she mentioned that her computer at the office had died and their IT manager was too busy at the moment to have a look at it.

"Hey, I know IT, I could have a look at it if you like" was my casual reply.

"Oh really? That would be great! Yes come in sometime Monday if you could please, if you could fix it that would be brilliant" was her enthusiastic reply.

So that was that. Monday arrives and I casually made my way to the company's office, met up with Tammy, and she informs me that the 'Operations Coordinator' wanted to talk to me.

Umm...sure.

We introduce ourselves. His name was Jay, an extremely nice guy but a very fast talker, and he only speaks one thing; business.

"Hey Aaron, nice to meet you! So, Tammy says you know computers? Tell me about yourself. She mentioned you've been traveling around America or something?" Jay interrogated relayed to me.

"Umm... yeah, I've... been traveling around America... for about 10 months now. Just for fun really. Going home shortly though. It's been great. Yeah I have a degree in IT, I came here today to help Tammy out briefly, she mentioned there was a computer in need of fixing?"

"Great man, sounds great! Yes yes, we are very busy of late, and our IT manager is completely snowed under with work of late! Let's set you up with him and see what work he needs done okay? So how long you still in America for? Can you stay the whole day today? Can you come in tomorrow? What's your schedule like?"

Woah, slow down there, what's with all the questions? Ha, it was a little intimidating really. I tried my best to answer, informing him that, sure, I guess I could stay for the day, and that if they really needed me then I guess I could come in the following day too, and that I planned to leave home for Australia in 2 weeks time.

The next thing I know he throws this at me:

"Great man, sounds good! Alright well as I said, our IT manager is pretty snowed under, and you have the computer know how. Hey! How would you like a position here? I know you are leaving to go home to Australia soon, but you could probably work until then yeah? What about staying in America a little longer and coming on fulltime?"

He is offering me a job now!? What is going on!?

"Umm, what? Umm, yeah... ok, I could work for the week I guess, but I go home to Australia in 2 weeks though... umm, let's see how today goes, and let's see how much work the IT manager needs to get done first, shall we?"

4 days later and I have officially worked my first week at my new spontaneously acquired fulltime job at a digital research firm as IT support in lower Manhattan... ha!

So... yep, wow... I got a real job! In New York City!

How. Did. This. Happen!?

For years I had dreamed of living in New York City... like, proper living, not just visiting as a tourist for a few weeks, but to actually have an apartment and get a real job in the heart of Manhattan (and not near Manhattan either like Brooklyn, but to be in the city itself). To truly experience the 'How I Met Your Mother' life, like I've always seen on TV or in the movies, and now, out of absolutely no where, it has actually happened; I've got an apartment, and now a full-time, real job, both in the heart of Manhattan.

Yikes...

The problem however is like I said; do I work for a week then continue on like planned and return to Australia in 2 weeks? Or do I take a chance and seize what is quite possibly a true once in a life time opportunity? I do miss home so very much... 10 months later and to still be on the road is... highly unexpected. And it was only a month or so ago that I was questioning and struggling to still be on this trip in the first place.

Despite being one of the toughest decisions I have had to make in quite some time, I think I already know the right answer. Regardless of how much I miss home, friends and family, I can't waste such an amazing opportunity. The answer really is already made for me. Sigh.

So there you have it, this trip, completely unexpectedly, continues!

I've already sent my request to my travel agent to postpone my return flight home for a later date, and I've informed my family and friends of my decision (which was received with both congratulations and disappointment), and Tammy says that she is happy to have me for as long as I like.

So begins a new chapter; living in New York City.

The view from my apartment window

New York City - The Museum of Natural History

New York City - Day One.

After a ridiculous nights sleep (jet lag...) after arriving the day before, I was somewhat ready to tackle New York City first thing in the morning! I had actually made it to New York City! Simply put, it was awesome. Considering the amount of time remaining on this trip before I planned to return home I figured I had about 7 days, perhaps 10, to spend here before having to move on. Let's hope that that is enough time!

I kind of don't know what words to write to be honest, without sounding like a terribly broken record, constantly repeating things along the lines of "wow I can't believe I'm here!" so... I will keep text to a minimum and let the pictures do most of the talking.

Stepping out of my hostel on 88th St on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Very cool indeed.

It may or may not have been a coincidence that my hostel just happened to be just around the corner from one of my most must-see places on my entire trip; the Museum of Natural History!

The Museum of Natural History. Here in the flesh at long last.

It is no surprise that I enjoy museums, in fact every single major city I have been to on this entire trip I have made sure to visit their main museum attraction. I was trying to think of which has been my favourite one so far... but I can't decide, either way this museum's reputation is without a doubt well deserved... it was truly amazing.

I'm In!

Immediately upon buying my tickets I signed up for the free walking tour offered. Best. Time. Ever. The tour guy was simply awesome, and over the following two hours he explained in amazing detail and creativity about half of what the museum had in store (the place is massive, you can't get through it in only two hours). Wow what fun it was, to soak in so much knowledge about a huge variety of topics.

My first (and favourite room) was the Haydon Room, which highlighted the size scale of objects throughout our world and universe from the astronomical (galaxies and stars), to the classical (buildings on Earth, us humans), to the atomic level(virus strains, atoms) and everything in between. It was simply brilliant.

Focusing on the astronomical scale

This is a to scale representation of the solar system, with that huge sphere on the left our sun.

All the way down to the atomic scale!

The huge sphere you saw in the image wasn't just used as a scaled version of the sun, but was used throughout the entire room as a reference point of size. Sometimes it represented the size of the sun, other times the size of Earth, a rain drop, a strain of virus, and even down to the size of a Hydrogen atom, all to help you better visualize the astronomical, classical, and atomic scale. Amazing.

I spent quite some time in that room.

Below are some other random shots throughout my wanderings.

A real asteroid. It weighed something like 44 tonnes, and the floor beneath it had to be reinforced to support its weight.

One of the worlds largest, and oldest, ever trees. Sadly of which was cut down in I think the 1930's. I believe from memory it was around 2000 years old. Amazing.

Of particular brilliance was the Oceanography room, consisting of extremely detailed and varied array of information and diagrams of everything from marine life, to the life cycle of the oceans, its ecosystems, and so much more. Not to mention what I thought was one of the most impressive items of the entire museum... the gigantic sized Blue Whale model hanging from the ceiling... wow!

Entering the oceanography room... I was in awe before I even stepped through the door

How cool is that! Believe me it is even more impressive in person, the thing was absolutely huge and highly detailed.

And of course whenever I'm in a museum, if I'm not in the Astronomy room, you'll find me in the Archeology section.

We spent I think 40 minutes in these rooms whilst on the tour, the guide had amazing knowledge and facts at his disposals. Every few steps we would stop, this was by far the most informative tour I've ever been on, I loved it.

Oh yeah, fun fact! Because, as I've always said, this blog is both entertaining and educational!

So have you ever wondered what actually classifies something is, or is not, a 'dinosaur'? Of course you have! Now sure, if you are asked 'what is a dinosaur' you will (hopefully) be able to name a few, or identify them from a picture of course... but how is a dinosaur classified as a dinosaur and not as a mammal, or reptile, or something else? Well, thanks to the awesome tour guide, I now know that answer! And now you will too!

Have a look at this picture below:

This depicts a hip joint of a dinosaur, and this spot here is exactly how archeologists classify a fossil as a dinosaur, and it seemed like a remarkably simple method considering we are dealing with the complexity that is evolution over millions of years. You'll notice that the end of the leg bone sits inside a completely hollowed out area of the hip bone, and you can imagine that as the dinosaur walks, this would rotate in this socket thus allowing for angled movement. When you compare this kind of hip-to-leg joint structure to other animals, they (including us humans) do not have a completely hollowed out hip bone joint. We mammals for instance have a spherical cut out within our hip joint that the top of our leg bone sits in, but this cut out does not go all the way through however.

See the image below of a human hip joint below for clarity:

 
This subtle different is what helps class what as a dinosaur and what is not. Very cool! Well I thought so at least. By using that method of classification, it also means that modern day birds are in fact dinosaurs, for their hip joint matches the criteria I briefly described above, meaning that birds have been around since the dinosaurs, with the last dinosaurs roaming over 65 million years ago. Interesting stuff!

And I guess that concludes my Museum of Natural history visit. Above was a very small handful of the photos I took, because really you could take a thousand and still have rooms left to explore, but alas I shall move on. Although this basically concludes my first day in New York City as well, with my remaining time rounded out with some dinner and reading at the hostel. And wow, was an amazing day it was. I've always been a huge fans of museums, whether it be about science, nature, space, visiting one has always been ranked highly on my must-see places, and I can gladly and willingly spend an entire day in one, with this one in particularly being on eof the best I have ever been to yet.

Bye for now!

Getting to New York City - The long way

Three years ago in late 2009 I remember daydreaming about what I wanted to do with my life once I had finished my University degree. I was 21 at the time, living out of home, tackling my third year of a four year University degree, and working part-time as a software developer (full-time on holiday periods) . Life was good, but as is my nature I would frequently dream of how I'd like the future to be, with 'where do I want to live' being one of my favourite topics to ponder.

I remember I had my choices of 'where to live' narrowed down to either by a beach (not sure which country), or New York City. The beach is an obvious choice... I mean, how cool would it be to have a beach within walking distance from your house (or better yet, viewing distance) to enjoy those summer days and nights with friends. And New York City... well, perhaps I had simply watched far too many episodes of the TV shows 'Friends' and 'How I Met Your Mother', but it appealed to me greatly and felt like a place I would want to be in someday.

Little did I know where this kind of daydreaming may lead me some day.

The following year, 2010, I was extremely busy having embarked on my Honours year at University. It was challenging and demanding, and a constant reminder that the following year would be the first time in my life where I wouldn't be tied down by my studies.

Throughout the year I'd constantly think back to my 'where to live' idea, with New York City sounding more and more alluring every time.

I've never been one for excuses as to why I can't do something, so when debating my own proposal to make the move to New York City a reality rather than a fruitless dream... well, I couldn't think of a reason not to really. What did I have to lose? Well... a hell of a lot really, but whatever, I was sure the potential rewards would far outweigh any negatives!.. in theory at least, and it really came down to one simple, although difficult to answer question: am I even capable of actually doing it? To quit my job, leave my home, my family and friends, and for an extended amount of time live in a foreign country?

I'd oscillate between 'supreme confidence' to 'turtle shell cowardice' within a matter of minutes.

"If you can make it in New York City, you can make it anywhere" - Someone

By early 2011 my University degree was now complete and I had gone straight into full-time hours at my software development job. The workplace was great... but wow was I bored. Sitting at a desk Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm is not my ideal of a 'good life', and it was during those long hours that I would research into what this crazy idea of mine would actually involve.

For starters, could I get a Visa? How do I get there? How much does it cost? Despite all the unknown I knew that whatever the costs or risks were, there was simply no reason not to go.

And that my friends sealed my fate, and in March 2011 I had officially decided that in one year from that moment I was to head off and tackle my grandest idea yet, to live and work in New York City.

I used to have this picture up on my bedroom wall to remind me everyday

The preparations took an entire year. I trained quite hard physically every week, building my strength and cardio in the hope that I could cope more easily with carrying bags, long walks, and reduce the chance of getting injured or sick. My mental preparation was the toughest to accomplish, whilst at the same time the easiest; it is easy to prepare for something when you live in a constant state of denial ha, although there were plenty of moments where I started to question what I was getting myself into. And the logistics weren't too bad I guess, such as applying for Visa's, flight tickets, buying equipment and so on... but when you are as lazy as I it can be quite intense.
I only got my Visa approved a month before the leaving date, for example...

And the plan? Ha! What plan? My plan consisted of two variables.

1. I hate long plane flights. I get headaches, time stands still, and I seem to have the worst luck with whom I get sat next to.

2. New York City is the ultimate goal.

So 'the plan' was to avoid the 20 hour flight from Sydney, Australia to New York, America by landing in Los Angeles instead, where I would chill out, get my bearings, then head off to New York City at my leisure a week or so later, and on March 22nd 2012, exactly one year after first making this idea official, I boarded a flight from Sydney, Australia to do just that!

Although as we now know, this is of course is not how it turned out in the slightest! The 'one week stay' in Los Angeles somehow turned into six weeks, and by month eight of my trip I was at that moment in Vancouver, Canada, still not having stepped foot out of the West coast of America in the slightest... ha!

Where had the last 8 months gone? Why was I still not in New York City yet? Was it not a priority anymore? Of course it was still a priority, but when you are traveling alone without an itinerary, you don't know anyone, and you don't having the slightest idea on what you are doing, then you kind of just go with the flow, and it appears that my flow was to head North along the West coast at glacial speeds.

Come November, my instincts were telling me that it was time to move on was more, so on November 19th I finally set out to achieve the dream of this entire trip and I boarded a flight from Seattle, Washington bound to New York City.

A six hour flight later (where upon I got sat next to a guy who was nearly as large as the airplane itself... bah!) I had touched down at JFK airport! This was followed by a three hour 'sight seeing' tour of the subway (I got terribly lost... by the time I emerged above ground again it was dark outside!), a long hunt for my hostel (it was a house with no sign on the front door), a very welcomed unloading of my bags, battles with jet-lag, to conclude it all with a walk outside which is what I have just returned from only moments ago.

I've done it, I'm here!  And wow it is so terribly surreal, while at the same time I awash with the great sense of self-pride that I have ever felt before, for after 2 years of dreaming of it, 1 year of planning for it, and 8 months of traveling towards it, I have finally accomplished it all and have stepped foot in New York City!

An uneventful and poor quality photo... but significant as it represents my first ever photo I took in NYC

My Valentines Day (aka I got my Tattoo!)

Valentines Day, full of romance, flowers, love... and all that kind of stuff. Luckily for me I am single (which I am really enjoying by the way) so I didn't have to worry about any of that and instead had a date of my own lined up *beware of incoming super cheesy joke*, a date with ink that is =)

Because my best mate Jason and I finally fulfilled our 5 year in the making promise to some day get tattoos!

We've been talking about getting tattoos for literally 5 or more years now, around the time we turned 18 was when it first came about. Back in July last year I was playing around with one particular tattoo idea, and then with the announcement that I was moving to NYC in 2012 did I really sit down and take the steps needed to make it all happen.

The fact that our appointment fell on that day was actually pretty funny and purely by chance (cause... yeah, what two bros purposely plan to have a tattoo on Valentines Day?). We didn't even realize what February 14th was until the lady behind the desk said "oh, nice, Valentines Day" did Jason and I actually click that it was. We both laughed and realized we have both been out of the dating game for quite a while ha.

I ended up sticking with my original design of having some script along my inner left arm that says:

"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything"

 

The calligraphy turned out incredible:

I really love the font and how the detail and clarity of the letters came out.

Apologies for the poor quality of the pictures, I had to take them myself, and the iPhone doesn't take great photos in poor light. I will update with better ones when I get the chance.

The end result looks superb, the level of detail, style and clarity in the letters is beyond impressive, I really couldn't of asked for it to turn out looking any cooler than it already does. It is a few days old now and my mind is having quite a difficult time grasping the idea that there is now a permanent new addition to my body, it is rather surreal knowing that this is now apart of me for as long as I live.

And that adds another item checked off the Lift List!

Nihao! - Part Eight

Part seven can be found here. We pick up from our imminent arrival at Chengdu airport, and I am pondering how my next day will go as Isaac says goodbye and I venture forth on my own.

Day eight - 3pm: I carry my luggage through the doors of Chengdu airport, Isaac and Vivian by my side. The flight doesn't board for another two hours, cool, that means I can spend thankfully some more time chatting to Isaac, making extra sure I have got all my tickets, times and places I need to be in order before he leaves.

This was all cut short however because suddenly Isaac turns to me and says "Ok man, it's been an amazing trip, I wish you a safe trip home".

I'm stunned. "What! You aren't staying with me until I board? How do I check in? What if I get lost? What if there is a problem with my ticket? No one speaks English!" Yes I admit there was the slightest moment of panic ha.

He laughs "Sorry man but Vivian needs to go. Don't worry you'll be fine."

We hug, and I try to express my sincere thanks for offering me this chance to accompany him on this amazing trip, one that has changed my life, but words escape me and I think all I managed was a rough 'thanks for everything' and a look away of the eyes. I watch them as they walk away towards the doors until I can't see them anymore, then look at my surroundings to get my bearings.

There is two hours before boarding, the airport is packed, and everything is literally in Chinese. I realized I was being silly at being nervous of being on my own, I mean how am I meant to travel on my own to New York City for a year if I can't manage 2 days in China (although to clarify it wasn't being on my own overseas that was the worry, it was more the language barrier that was the daunting part...crazy imagination). From my Yoga classes I have learned how to (with some degree of success) calm my mind and breathing, so I found an empty floor space, sat down, and read my book. Within minutes I was completely calm, it was nice to know I have much more control over myself than I initially realized.

Long story short I got through check-in and boarded with no worries and was soon fast asleep on the two and a half hour flight back to Shanghai. Cool. In fact being on my own was kind of fun, it gave me a small feeling of being a 'mystery traveler' ha!


Day eight - 9pm: The flight touched down in Shanghai, this is where the real test of being a foreigner in another country would begin, I was excited! After collecting my luggage I hauled my way to the taxi line, caught one, and showed the taxi driver a piece of paper where Isaac had written the address of my hotel in Chinese. After my repeated questioning in Chinese mandarin "do you understand?" and him insisting that he does, we were on our way.

Funny story here. After the 40 minute drive we were in the city. I had absolutely no idea where I was but I trusted the driver. Thankfully he finally starts to slow, points up ahead and says a bunch of stuff in Chinese that I couldn't understand at all, but I assumed he was saying something like 'the hotel is up ahead, just across the intersection'. He pulls over, I give him a thumbs up, then lug my extremely heavy bags into the direction he pointed. As I was waiting at the lights however I was looking up and down the street to where he pointed but I just couldn't see where the hotel was, but figured it must be just up ahead.

25 minutes go by and I am still wandering the streets, in which case I had already traversed each street of the intersection, got into a lengthy discussion with a security guard whom I asked for directions (despite the fact I had no idea what he was saying and he couldn't speak English), and got waved at by a disturbing number of 'massage' girls, and I still had not found where the blazes this hotel was. It was around 11pm now, and my bags with the addition of all the extra gifts were extremely heavy. Sigh... just my luck.

Eventually I decided to walk back to the spot the taxi driver dropped me off at to start over. As I was gathering my bags to get ready to trek out again a sign just in front of me caught me eye... a sign that looked rather similar to the hotel logo I was looking for. I stand up straight only to see that the hotel I had been looking for this whole time had in fact been exactly where the taxi guy dropped me off ha!

I really enjoyed the freedom of being on my own actually. After checking in to the hotel (thankfully one of them spoke a little English), I went down the street and bought some supplies and just generally wandered around for a while. A very relaxing way to end the night.



Day nine: My flight to take me home to Australia wasn't until 8pm which meant I had the entire day to explore Shanghai. My parents had recently come back from a holiday to Shanghai themselves and highly recommended the Shanghai Science and Technology museum, so my destination was set.

But to no surprise, due to my weird luck, it was closed that day ha! Sigh. The taxi I had arrived in had already driven away, and the street I was on was completely deserted, so alas I am forced to do more walking with my array of luggage. I better gain some muscle mass after this trip ha.

I made the most of my walk and took in the sights, Shanghai is such a beautiful city.

Shanghai Art Exhibition.

After a highly confusing conversation with a taxi driver (how do you portray 'Shanghai Museum' in charades ha!) I spent my day at the awesome Shanghai Museum. It was rich of the countries history and had some seriously impressive works of art and collection of artifacts. Some of the artifacts you see below are literally over a thousand years old!

800 years old!

With the museum complete and still another hour before I must leave I wanted to soak up the city one last time.

As I sat on the park wall, in the pleasant weather and the peaceful air, I felt completely at peace. Thoughts drifted to the question "could I live here one day?". After some thought I had my answer. Yes, I could definitely see myself living here sometime in the future. Time was running low before I had to head to the airport, it was at this moment I was highly reluctant to leave. Could it really had been 9 days? To be honest it did feel like it, my mind and body was thoroughly exhausted, what a roller coaster of tempo the trip had been.

It was hard to imagine that so much could be fit into such a short amount of time; chasing taxi's in Shanghai, traversing the Forbidden City, riding bikes through the peak hour streets of Beijing, exploring the wonder of the Great Wall, strolling through Beijing Olympic Park, meeting all those exciting new people, learning mahjong in Chongqing, haggling with merchants in Chengdu, drinking all that tea and eating all those traditional meals, not to mention the five plane flights and one train ride, and still that is just the tip of the iceberg of my trip. The recount of the trip could of easily been twenty parts or more (so be thankful it only made it to eight ha).

After another 15 minutes I tore myself from the view, chased down a taxi and went to the airport, savoring these last moments.

My last glimpse of Shanghai as I head to the airport.

The plane ride turned out surprisingly amazing. It is a 10 hour flight which I seriously dread (I get headaches and insanely bored on planes) but somehow, and I have no memory of this, I managed to fall asleep for 8 hours! Before I knew it the flight attendants were waking me up for the breakfast meal which meant there was only two hours remaining, win! On the flight also I made good friends with the guy next to me, his name was Matt and he had just come from Italy to try and get a job in Australia... how cool is that! We chatted for ages.

Alas, after what seemed like one of the most hectic weeks, I was home.

Melbourne.

I'm home.

Nihao! - Part Seven

Part six can be found here. The last two days spent in Chongqing were simply awesome, but it was time to move on.

Day seven: Isaac and I woke up early, said a big goodbye and thank you to Ava, and made our way to the train station for the two hour trip to Chengdu, a small city to the north-west. The train ride was a breeze (everything is so cheap for foreigners that we opted for first-class seats), and Vivian (Isaac's friend) was nice enough to meet us at the station once we arrived and drive us to our hotel.

Something I found on a brochure at the train station. I thought it was rather appropriate for the moment =)

After a quick lunch it was time to explore, in which they took me to one of the coolest places ever!.. although again the name escapes me ha. Something like 'Chingni'? Anyways, it was a market of sorts, much like the one in Chongqing the day before but much cooler. Best of all there was a plethora of gift stores, and being late in the trip my Chinese mandarin speaking skills were at a good enough level that I could get by on my own when shopping. It was awesome =D

My poor attempt to try and take an 'artistic' looking photo.

 

These guys looked great!

Isaac, Vivian and myself stopped for some tea at a tea house, a common past time here in China. The place was so magnificent looking and peaceful I can easily see why the Chinese love these tea houses. With a group of friends around you, maybe a deck of cards, some tea and snacks, and the day could easily drift by with pleasure.

Taken from our seats. Such a peaceful setting.

Shame about the picture quality.

Isaac and Vivian clearly had a lot of catching up to do so after a third failed attempt to teach them some card tricks, I thought I should leave the two friends alone for a while and make the most of my time as a tourist. By this stage in the trip I knew about 25 Chinese mandarin words and could get by surprisingly well. Words like 'hello', 'thank you', 'no thanks', 'good' and so on were now second nature, and I had managed to move onto longer phrases such as 'how much does this cost?', 'too expensive', 'I don't understand' and my personal favourite 'I think you are a very beautiful girl' (which I used quite a few times with hilarious results ha).

I really love haggling with shop keepers, I don't know why but I find it to be so much fun. With the language barrier it became more of a challenge which only fueled my enjoyment. Soon enough I had a few gifts under my arms, but still had about 6 people left to buy for that I just couldn't find anything for. That was until I met this awesome old guy!

He would of been about 60 years old and if you provide him a name (in Chinese) he would paint on the spot these beautiful calligraphy portraits that represents a message of well-wishes and include the name as well. And luckily for me as soon as he heard me greet him and ask him some questions in Chinese, his eyes lit up with surprise and was immediately my fan, win!

The level of detail with just a paintbrush was impressive!

These made for the perfect gift, I was very pleased. I ended up buying six of these and after I had learned from Isaac how to say 'this is for you' offered him a generous tip for his work and friendliness. I don't think the Chinese are familiar with the gesture of 'tipping' for he gave me a very strange look and I had to insist that I wanted him to have it (and that I hadn't simply mistaken how much I owed him), in which he gave an awkward glance then a big smile once I think he finally got the idea ha.

Interestingly while walking around this market I seen heaps of foreigners (around twenty or so), something I hadn't expected to see what so ever, especially because Chengdu seems even more remote than Chongqing and in Chongqing the day before I had only seen two my entire time there. I didn't say hello to any of them, partly because I thought it was a little too cliche' (Hi, another foreigner, cool, let's form a club) and secondly I wasn't sure if they spoke English (most seemed European). It was a very unique experience to be able to watch how people from countries other than my own (Australia) interact and carry themselves amongst the Chinese.

Alas with my bag full of gifts and my wallet emptied of money it was time to head home. We had dinner together with Vivian that night (she didn't talk to me much, I think she was shy) at a Pizza Hut (while I do thoroughly enjoy Chinese food, it is all we had eaten all week so it is nice to have some Western food to mix it up).

Isaac challenged me to eat this entire pizza by myself. I won!

Afterwards we said our goodbyes to Vivian then Isaac and I decided to make the most of our remaining time here (as we were leaving the next day) so we walked to our hotel, soaking up the Chengdu very lively night atmosphere.

Back in our hotel I turned on my laptop and checked my emails, enjoying the down time. It had been a very relaxing and most enjoyable day. I remember sometime during the day while drinking my tea I had to remind myself that the trip is nearly over. In the first few days it felt like the 9 days I was to be here felt like forever away... but with the end so near I had trouble remembering where the time had gone. We packed our bags to be ready in the morning as the next day we were once again on the move, then went bed.

Day eight: About 1am in the morning I deeply regretted accepting Isaac's challenge to eat the whole pizza... my stomach was on fire haha! Thankfully it passed and I fell back to sleep. About 10am we both awoke, checked out of the hotel, met up with Vivian again and went out for breakfast/lunch at a nearby restaurant.

I was a little nervous that day. Why? Because for the next day and a half I would be on my own in my travels here in China. That afternoon I had a flight to take myself to Shanghai, and the following day I had another flight to take me from Shanghai back home to Australia and with Isaac staying in China for the next few months over summer he obviously wouldn't be joining me any further than we currently were. We spent a while organizing how I was to be catching flights, directing taxi's and booking into hotels without Isaac with me to translate.

On our drive to the airport I was thinking about how my next day and a half would go on my own, reiterating through my head all the Chinese words I knew. I wasn't too worried as I knew a lot of people in Shanghai speak English (especially at airports and hotels) so that was fine, and Isaac would be with me at Chengdu airport to see me off so if I ran into any problems he could come rescue me. No worries!

Or so I thought...

Part eight here. Let's see how my time alone went...