Vanessa's Journal

Feb. 16

This morning I woke up early to catch the bus to the city of Chengdu.  I slept through must of the bus ride and was amazed that we made it in a mere 3.5 hours. When we were almost there, a woman sitting next to me on the bus vomited in a plastic bag, which then proceeded to break and spill its contents all over the floor beneath us. If that doesn’t say “Welcome to Chengdu,” I don’t know what does. 

Once in the city, it felt good to have successfully exchanged money. I then did what any dairy-deprived vegetarian would do - I ate a pizza and a milkshake. I also took the longest shower of my life after being on a mountain without plentiful water and not having showered for more days than I am willing to admit. I rediscovered the truth that underneath multiple layers of dirt and grime, my hair is in fact blond. 

Not being one to return to my field team empty handed, I also developed their family pictures from the Chinese New Year and put them in some nice photo albums.  I hope they like them.