On October 2nd, I flew back from SF of California to Beijing, It was a fast flight, less than 11 hours.  I fell asleep from noon to almost 4:00 pm. I sat next to a professor from the University of Texas who showed his interest in me by wearing a blindfold during the flight to improve his potential for sleep.

I experienced the pulse of SF when my friend Gregory Johnson gave me a ride to the international airport early in the morning. On the freeway; we saw a flow of brakelights moving so fast, I told Gregory that I will always have confidence in the U.S. economy because of its people's diligence.

It was a full flight due to Chinese National Day, and there were lots of couples with babies.  I presumed that most of them were born in U.S. and that they were being taken home to see their senior family members in China. The young moms and dads put lots of energy into comforting them.

When I landed at the 3rd Terminal of the Beijing Airport, I saw people everywhere, looking small in comparison to with the majority of big American people I had grown used to seeing in Davis. People here are apt to be more noisy, jostling each other in the crowds more than Americans. 

The 3rd terminal was constructed for the Olympics just a couple months ago. It showed signs of wear, the layout of the facility was little bit messed up; full of stuff, colors, boards, signs, movement and noise. I felt that the airport was still tired because of the overload during the Games.  

When I tried to find the terminal for China Airlines to go to Lanzhou, I got the feeling that the terminal allocation largely relied on the economic capacity of the province, since flights to Shanghai have easier access. To go to Lanzhou, in the western province of Gansu where I live, the terminal is located in a very deep and isolated spot. When I arrived, I recognized the faces of people from Gansu, eroded faces and small eyes for protection against the winds!  Meanwhile a smell came towards me, a bit unpleasant, perhaps a blend of a longer time between showers and cigarettes. Now I know I am near to my home.

My trip was a very big landscape change: from the center of capitalism, to Beijing, and then to Lanzhou, and probably to Minxian county later on, a county which is located at the rim of Tibet plateau. I will go to see my grandpa and grandma who have live there for many years and they never want to leave. Us kids have to go there to see them during any of the Chinese festivals such as the Moon Festival or the Spring Festival. This time after my long trip to the U.S., they long to see me. Both are in their 80s. Actually we are tired of making this trip because going by public bus is tougher than taking an airplane to go to the U.S. or Canada. It is an unpleasant, bumpy trip of 7 hours.

Lanzhou just had a shower before the plane landed, freshening the air.  I got the airport shuttle to downtown of Lanzhou and from there I took a taxi with a warmhearted driver. He  mentioned my luggage was too heavy and wanted to know what I put in my bags. I told him that this was none of his business and asked him to drive me to my home, please. I gave him more than he was supposed to get and he was happy. I guess this is why he complained about the heavy load.

I reached Tianqing Garden where my sweet home is and two ladies, my wife and my daughter, were looking forward to seeing me after such a long time of missing each other.

I arrived at 12 midnight on the 4th, (morning of the 3rd in Davis ) after my sweet little daugher was already asleep, and my wife opened the door before I knocked. Home is sweet, much better than the dorm in Davis. My wife did some improvements to the apartment, she added double layers for keeping warm and put new curtains on the new windows. She asked me if I liked what she had done, I said I love it. I said to myself that it was finished anyway!

My "respectable" friends, this was my trip back home from Davis to China, let us keep in touch.  Roy.

(light edits by S. Klahorst)