3 weeks in the States turned into 5...
Trip Start
Aug 03, 2010
1
73
173
Trip End
Ongoing
Appleton, Wisconsin
Monday, January 24, 2011
Firstly, it was great to see my family (well the ones in America anyway). I was a little tired on the trip back from Green Bay airport and apparently kept talking about my hat from Tibet... I don't think it got any kind of approval, but not that I cared. The flight from HK was challenging, I don’t really remember much about the journey apart from sitting on an uncomfortable Delta Airlines seat for 16 hours (the in-flight movie choices and food were both pretty good though) and then having to sit next to a larger lady, shall we say, on my second flight where you couldn’t even lower the arm rest to create some sort of divide, socially unfair to others in my opinion, but it was only an hour flight so I huddled in the corner of my seat and waited for the flight to end.
When I got back to my parents house, I was so happy to have my wardrobe back again, especially my jeans... my zip-offs that I had pretty much been wearing everyday for a month or so where really beginning to look ridiculous on me. Turns out in the last few months I had lost nearly 14 pounds, just from eating Chinese food and hiking etc... clothes, in particular my shorts and trousers, were just hanging off me. Not that I was even overweight to begin with haha. Unfortunately the food in America, as tasty as it was, is not exactly great for maintaining weight loss, unless you are really trying that is... I think in my time there, a combination of the carbs/sugars and lack of hiking opportunities meant that I pretty much just put all that weight back on!
There were all kinds of Christmas celebrations amongst the present giving and drinking; an amazing steak dinner, a ping pong competition won by my Dad and then a game of flush the crusty lumps of ear wax out of people’s ears lol (mine were clean luckily!!).
New Years Eve was also quite memorable where we went to see my brother-in-law’s sister sing in a band. I had a few too many JD’s that night, got trashed and was being accused of putting my arm round members of my sister’s in-laws family. It amused her slightly, but not too sure how much she appreciated me later then hugging the toilet seat, being sick for a couple hours whilst shouting at her and her husband to stop touching me! Good night that one haha.
I also saw True Grit at the cinema which was an awesome film, went up to the in-laws grandparent’s cottage on Pelican Lake and ice-fished for a few days... I caught the biggest perch of the weekend, though when my mum defrosted them a week or so later for dinner, she somehow managed to defrost the bag without my fish in... she denies it though and claims I ate it ;-).
The rest of the time was spent either chilling out, running errands with whoever or looking for teaching jobs in China for when I return.
It was frigging cold in America and my sister said that, as it was my second year running there, I am no longer allowed to come in winter when everyone stays inside escaping the cold. We’ll see... I don’t know what I am doing next Christmas yet and I wouldn’t want to break tradition ay!
So after 5 relaxing weeks in the Cheese State, a complete repack of my backpack and backup of everything electronic, I was on my way back to Hong Kong to see what happens with teaching jobs in China and to continue travelling.
Finally, well done to the Packers for reaching the Superbowl, I’ll be watching it somewhere, and to my family, it was great, you will all be missed!
Comments
I expected to see some photos of Wisconsin food to add to the collection! Didnt we have a great time, even if it was winter, doesnt stop the Sharps having fun. Some great memories were made this last couple of months Ben.
Aaah loved this post. We did have a grand time. But its true, you cannot come back in the Winter, ill tell the airports you have anthrax