Eighteen Days in California

The theme of our California trip has been: over-stimulation.

We spent most of 2022 under a bit of a cloud. Despite everything, we’ve managed to keep happy for the most part. But maybe it’s been the kind of happiness that requires a lot of effort, and a sprinkling of self-delusion. So to be thrust out into the elements of California has been an assault to the senses. Speaking for myself, people would have either met an excited bouncing clown (usually soaked in gin, let’s be honest), or a confused mole-man who has recently been introduced to society and clearly needs to do more work on their social skills. But it has been our mission to jam in as much into the last three weeks as we have lacked these last three years. Mission accomplished.

We now begin our return to Shanghai. And we have been re-introduced to a feeling that we have missed these last few years: being happy to come back to our home. We live a comfortable, privileged life and we enjoy the adventure of being in a place that challenges us every single day. But we also know what we are missing by living on the other side of the world to so many family and friends. So a massive thank you to everyone who we met for a brief time on this trip. I am one happy clown/mole-man. 🤡🐀


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