Catching up in China: Going home

After the "Shanghai Incident," we arrived at the airport without any problems.  We spent our last few RMB buying lunch and let Ellie play in a pretty cool play area we had set up.  But mostly she loved going on the moving walkways with Ben.

 

We were so grateful to land back in Japan and take our shuttle home without incident.  There were some other teacher friends of ours waiting for the shuttle as well (they had gone back to visit Germany for their Christmas vacation), and we had them snap a photo for us.   

We can't express how thankful we were for Crystal and Aaron.  They were wonderful hosts and so much fun to hang out with!  China was an incredible experience.  The culture is so different from anything else I've experienced, but the people were friendly (for the most part; there were always grandmotherly types telling me that Ellie was not bundled enough).  It was definitely a Christmas vacation to treasure!