Sorry for the month-long absence, but I wanted Philadelphia to have my undivided attention – out of my studies, of course. While I finished most of my work beforehand, the only thing I had to do was my threaded discussion which took me no time at all. I had missed my city for such a long time and I wanted to see what changed and what remained the same. Short answer, a lot.
While in Philly, I wanted to stay with my grandma. I hadn’t seen her in four years and it was her idea to house me. She even kept my room untouched. However, it was shrunken due to the reconstruction of her bathroom; my Uncle Drew wanted to make the bathroom not only bigger but handicap-friendly. It looked amazing and I could imagine wanting something like this when I’m in my senior. Plus, we spent hours every day catching up on local events and familial updates. It was nice and I knew my grandma enjoyed it. She also knew that there would be others who would want my attention. A lot of other people.
On the FIRST date, my younger brother found me – and, yes, I mean “found”. He knew my usual spots in Center City and took a guess where I would be. Indeed, I am a creature of habit. We spent the entire day together and it was amazing. It felt like no time had passed between us as we did what we always did: watch TV and talk.
Later, throughout the two weeks, I got to visit my favorite cafe, Good Karma Cafe, my favorite bars, Level Up (formerly Boxers), and Barnes & Noble. Of course, I would go to my favorite bookstore; that part couldn’t be helped. I ended up buying a couple of books which surprised no one. I ended up meeting up with as many of my family and friends as possible. Even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to see anybody, I, at least, wanted to make sure that I saw my core family and friends. Since I managed to do that, I count this holiday as a success.
However, getting back to China proved to be a challenge. When booking my return flight, an error on their part left me needing a visa to temporarily enter India which I didn’t know until the day off. He placed the blame on me for “not checking”, but I reminded him that that’s what I paid him for as I wanted to focus all my attention on my family. Regardless, he didn’t want to give me all of my money back – only 20%. So, I had to call my friend to get me a ticket and vowed to never rely on a travel agent, again. Still, I got home and immediately went to work while breaking the main rule of handling jetlag. Haha!
Please don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads) on my web page’s right side. Also, I love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and Fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2024. For this year, my goal is 150, and I’m already at 21. Given that I’m in school and teaching English, I will blast through this challenge.
