Shanghai To Begin With

 I know that it is not a great accomplishment to get on a plane and arrive at your destination when in truth, the airline does the lion share of the work.  However, I was still getting chemotherapy and so felt a bit on the brave side to travel on my own (I actually delayed a dose of chemo in order to make the trip).  In actuality, there is a direct flight from Chicago to Shanghai, and my nephew met me at the airport.  I had navigated Chinese immigration and customs, including walking through the device that monitors your temperature (weird to see, but I guess it keeps a certain kind of infectious person out of the country), and I didn't even check a bag, so I didn't need to find my bag.  Really, it was pretty easy.  The flight is so long that it would be impossible to not get a bit of sleep, so I was even able to walk around a bit.  The great thing about the time of year that I arrived in was that it was Asian New Year, and there were red lanterns and flags hanging all about.  That also meant that a lot of things were closed, but fortunately for me, food is a very important part of Chinese culture, meaning that even with half of the restaurants closed there was still quite a bit of choice when it came to immersing myself in the culture.  So glad I took a chance on travel, despite my personal drawbacks.