Tower at the Grand Bazaar, originally uploaded 18 May ‘08, 5.04am EDT PST

Urumqi is definitely nothing like we imagined. Even though we were expecting the unexpected, things are so extreme here. We’re never bored, if nothing else. There’s no time for boredom, between the insane thrills and the general insanity that is Life here. But if I ask myself, what have I done since I dropped everything and travelled to the other side of the world? there’s so little that can actually be put on the list:

• Met my extended family
• Got a job teaching English
• Found an apartment

We haven’t even been anywhere outside of Urumqi in the past three months. And yet. Oh gods, the things we’ve done. Or maybe it’s better to say the things that have been done to us. There’s no way I can write it all up that would even come close to doing justice to everything we’ve been through. Has it only been three months? It feels closer to a lifetime. I think back on the the things I thought and said and worried about before leaving the States - or even the ideas that went through my head when I first got here back in January and February and I’m amazed at how young I seem in my own memory. Forever on my life will be split into two periods: Before Urumqi and After Urumqi.

I guess that makes it all sound negetive, and that’s not my intention at all. There were definitely low points (read: the Month of Hell, which I may discuss later if I feel up to it); and yet, not for a moment have I regretted coming here. The things I’ve learned about people and culture and society could fill volumes, and those aren’t even the most interesting bits. And that’s not even to mention how much I’ve learned about myself.

Aja and I keep talking about how we haven’t even begun to process the great majority of the things we’ve experienced here. I’m already in emotional and intellectual and sensual overload with the things that I must deal with while I’m here; everything else gets compartmentalized in my mind -  a kind of defense mechanism - to be taken out of neatly labled boxes and examined carefully at a later date; at a time when I’m somewhere far away, safe where nothing can touch me. Everything touches me here.

I do have to admit, though, that the lack of internet access doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it did in France. There’s just too much going on around here for us to worry about such mundane things. Like I said before, the amount of family here is amazing - they’re everywhere. It’s amazing to me how there are always people around to help with any kind of problem we may have, and most of the time they take care of things before any kind of problem even becomes apparent.

I guess since I grew up in a family that’s been completely isolated (culturally, linguistically, geographically), - it’s always been my mom, dad, Camira and myself alone in the world - that the idea of a big family now is still amazing and terrifying to me. It’s completely wonderful to have so many people who care about me on this level. It’s strange and great to see and get to know all these people who knew me when I was little and can even tell me stories about my parents as children. But at the same time, it can be a little overwhelming to go from a family of four to family of 80+.

But overall, Urumqi has been great so far. There’s always something new to do, to see, to eat. I’m having a lot of fun. And if nothing else, this is an amazing way to put off Real Life for awhile longer.

I don’t have time to write a real entry right now, but just wanted to drop this note to let everyone know that I’ve arrived safely and I’m having a great time. Aja’s doing really well too, she loves it here. I’ll put up a real post later on.

Hope everything is going well back home!

We went to the New Years party, which started out kinda slow but turned out to be really fun overall. It was great to be able to see everyone one last time before I leave on the 22nd (only 19 days left, OMG!). It was especially nice to see the girls again - and I got to talk to Shahnaz more about the wedding plans. It turns out her friend is almost definitely not going to be able to come, which concretes the “koldash” spot for me. The wedding is scheduled for the end of August, which gives me a solid 7+ months to learn how to speak & dance Uighur-style. And to get my dress(es) made. I’m so excited!

Graduation was great. Dai-An was right when he said it gets kinda unexpectedly emotional. That whole Wow, I’m actually done! feeling hit me out of nowhere and I might have teared up a little. Aziz bey and Gwen came down for the ceremony, which was awesome. It was so nice to see them again after such a long time. They’re really the only family we have in the U.S. so it meant a lot for me to look into the stands and see them sitting with my parents and Camira, cheering me on. Aja’s family was there for the main commencement ceremony and they came over for brunch on the Friday after graduation; it was nice to see them again as well.

I really didn’t have a chance to catch my breath after graduation before all the holiday stuff started. There was bayram & all the craziness that comes with that, and then Christmas and New Years. Hasan & Amina’s family came down for New Years and went to the party with us, then came for brunch the next day - it was nice seeing them too. Canan and Fatih are so big now! It makes me feel old.

Yesterday was the first day of work (of “real life”) after all the graduation/holiday madness, and it was the first chance I had to look at the calendar and think OMG, I’m leaving for Urumqi in 20 days. Understandably, I freaked out a little. I had the weirdest dream the night before, about trying to hold back gushing water from flooding a house or something… stress will do that to you. But I took care of some things & just now I took a look at the WorldTour(TM) Travel Prep List and I realized that I could check a lot of things off. The only major things left now are the doctor’s appointments and the financial stuff, which I will take care of tomorrow and next week, and then we’re set to go!

I thought I’d feel sad about it or something, but no. I feel lighter than air. Seriously, with all these crazy group projects and term papers and final presentations - they squeeze every ounce of joy and goodwill towards school out of you before they finally spit you out.

Now I have 5 days of blissful freedom (aside from the requisite studying) before exams, but really, finals are going to be breeze after the past couple of weeks.

Aja & I are going to the Chinese Embassy tomorrow to apply for our visas. Unfortunately we have to stop by Merkle to pick up my passport first, since I’m totally retarded and forgot to grab it the last time I was at home. Thank god dad works so close.

1. Countdown. I’ve added the countdown widget (left) and bargraph to keep track of how many days left until we leave for Urumqi. (!!!) As the bar gets less blue and more orange, we get closer and closer to leaving.
2. Flickr. The previous post talks about how I’ve set up a flickr.com account for sharing photos during the WorldTour(TM). I think I’ve sent invitations out to everyone already, but if I’ve missed you, let me know and I’ll add you to my “family” list so you can see all my travel photography from abroad.
3. Viewpoints. Related to the Flickr account, this new little widget (also left) will randomly display two of my favorite photos from the gallery. You can click on them to access my Flickr gallery webpage.
4. Subscribe2. This new plugin (currently located at the bottom of the left menu, if you scroll down) makes it possible for you to sign up for email updates everytime I post something new to this site. Yes, now you’ll never have to inadvertantly miss an exciting WorldTour(TM) Journal (which will from now on be referred to as WTJ) post ever again. Just subscribe with your email address and you’ll get a confirmation email ASAP. Once you’ve confirmed, you’ll start receiving posts directly in your inbox.

And also, this last thing probably won’t be too visible to you guys, but the WTJ has been officially updated to wordpress version 3.21! Yayness!

That is all.

In any case, I just set up a flickr account for myself to ease the storage & sharing of photos during the WorldTour(TM), so I’m using this opportunity to both test out the cool image blogging feature and to post about the NYC trip.

Here’s one of the pictures I took in New York. To see more, check out the NYC tag on my flickr webpage. I’ve also taken the time to add descriptions to every one of the pictures, so any comments would be appreciated.

NOTE: Only the pictures of places and things are available for public viewing. If you’re a friend (i.e. you know me in real life), please take a moment to set up your own flickr.com account and let me know so that I can add you to my “family” list & give you permission to see pictures of people. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on all the hot pictures of me travelling the world come January!

Broadway, play billboards, originally uploaded 12 Nov ‘07, 11.09pm EST PST

Some of the plays currently being shown on Broadway. Grease, the one we saw, is in the middle. I highly recommend it to anyone thinking of catching a play!