Holiday Inn Select - Chicago / Midway Airport

... I don't know if the food was good or if we were hungry but it didn't take long for us to devour it.

The Chicago skyline was much different at night than in the daylight. After weaving through traffic to get out of the city, we remembered how beautiful it was when we were here last. We wanted to get back on the road so we can stay on schedule to get to New Jersey by Tuesday.

I, for some reason woke up at 8:30am. Nick woke up around 10:30. Nick had a remote computer-tech call from Julia today and she discovered the awesomeness that is Google Docs. It's a web-based document creator; word documents and spreadsheets. All are stored online and you can access them anywhere with an internet connection.

Ok. Today we went and bought some ...

Tough trip to plan for ....20F in Beijing and 95F in Jakarta. A lot of business meetings and not sure laundry limits. I'll be outside if trekking to the Great Wall. I'm going to be all over the place. Packed a suitcase in a suitcase in case I see something to buy for the girls/family too good to pass up.

... in the air, yes, it is a cool city.

Staying with my lovely friend Nicole at Northwestern University in student accommodation. Nicole is studying at the Kellogg Business School. Being connected to the famous Kellogg family expecting there to be huge boxes of free cornflakes and frosties for all students (Horrah!). No boxes in reception, must be somewhere else, possibly in the Kellogg Room?? Will ask ...

... do they work? How do they have currents? Does that mean they get affected by the moon too? And do they also therefore have tides? Why dont they just dry up? I mean, after all its nothing more than just a big.. puddle no?..

I did have SUCH a lovely time with Wendy. We are the closest in age (and sex) to anyone I have stayed with and I felt wonderfully at ease here in Chicago. But I did seem to be feeling really run down by the end of my ...

... anything, but people were just FREAKING out, getting hammered, dancing like crazy, all before 3 p.m. Very interesting cultural experience...

Anyway, we hung out around there, met up with some more people Ian's friends knew. After that, we went our separate ways, Ian to the Sears Tower and me to Wicker Park again. Wicker Park was a little better than in the day time. I watched a nice little punk band, and then hung out ...

... Dec 1 Abuja to Lagos Lagos to Paris (that's right...back to Europe!) Sunday, Dec 2   ; Paris to Niamey (*****) Friday, Dec 7   ...

and not the destination, right? at least that's what we've all heard. well screw that! for my china trip, it was all about the destination. i was ready to be there already! but unfortunately, this journey has been quite ardous. at least the flight part of it.

my flight from new orleans to chicago was delayed. for 3 hours. they said it was because of the weather in chicago. it was supposedly ...

What a struggle it was trying to get this trip started! We left an hour and a half early for the airport with our friend Justin so that we could check in then have lunch together nearby the Detroit airport. But this plan for lunch seemed like it was going to be thwarted by 9 miles of ´construction´(we saw none) on the expressway. Yet, all of the traffic was being forced into two lanes, then one, with orange cones and barrels that seemed to have been ...