connecting in guangzhou

I am sitting in the lobby bar at the Intercontinental Hotel in Guangzhou, China.  I spent the day sleeping, swimming, and shopping, just trying to get adjusted to the time travel.  I have so many things to do that I was not sure I would or should go on this trip.  But as I get more acclimated to being here I think I can see that I can get things done while I am here and also refresh my brain. Being away from family and friends and all of normal life is difficult, but it also reminds how much there is to appreciate.  Some of it gets lost in the every day grind but take that away and all the special things become clear.

Adding this later. I was only in Guangzhou for a few days but still made a few friends and saw some sights. I met Madix in the lobby of the hotel and he was very helpful with buying tickets and giving me directions and writing out directions taxi drivers and for the train ticket seller. His note really helped me buy my ticket to the next destination.

Finally at the Guangzhou train station, I managed to buy my ticket with the help of his written note. I wandered into the huge train station (of which we have none in the USA) and started the search for my gate. My ticket from Guangzhounan to HKWestKowloon was on the G311.

I was a little overwhelmed but making my way up to the third floor of the train station when a woman spoke to me in perfect English.  She asked if I needed any help finding my train. I must have looked lost. She was escorting her sister to Shenzhen and we all had tickets on the same train. So we walked together and talked about her previous US travels to western states and how she teaches English in China.  I told of my other trips to China visiting cities in the northeast.  At any rate, I connected with her in Wechat (微信) and I found out later that she is on the Faculty of International Business and Finance at the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in Guangzhou.

She is also a poet, and I hope to share some of her poems here one day.  Her name is May (Yemei) and I am lucky to have met her.  Sometimes it is good to look a little lost.