It's been an amazing and fast trip back to the states. Despite being here for almost 6 weeks, it went by in the blink of an eye and we feel like we didn't waste a minute. We had a lovely time and Conor and Megan's wedding and it was a perfect day with family. Before the wedding we spent our time doing the traditional zip-lining/high ropes course activities. Even though Vivian was considered too small to zip-line, she found a way to make it happen on the other obstacles.
We were very lucky to see many friends and family from all over the country although we were bummed to miss seeing several. We had so many wonderful lunches, ice cream runs, barbecues, dinners, and parties even up to the last day as we ran into college friends at the hotel restaurant before our flight. We are forever grateful to our many loving hosts.
Our quick observations while back:
- America is a car-centered place. We need to drive everywhere, even when we are meeting people and plan to walk around. It can definitely be convenient to be able to get to anywhere quickly without relying on train times or uber drivers, but the cost and the time can be great. Because of all the driving, there is so much construction (especially in places with tough winters). Ben will not miss driving and will really not miss sitting in traffic.
- Food servings are crazy big. We found ourselves unable to finish many meals at restaurants and were often stuffed to the brim. We missed many of our old places, but couldn't handle all they had to offer.
- Air and water quality is wonderful. Even though Shanghai is typically pretty clear, we didn't ever need to bother checking air quality in the midwest and most of the lakes are pretty clear.
