Back Home Just returned from my trip to Seattle and Vancouver. As soon as I get settled, I will leave more details (see posts below). For now, let me say that the trip was a memorable one. I expected to have a good time, but what surprised me was how comfortable I felt in both places and how much I hated to leave. That probably indicates that I’m ready for a change of scenery in my life. Another thing that totally surprised me was how much Vancouver (especially Richmond and Burnaby) reminded me of Hong Kong. For 5 days, from morning to night, I spoke mostly Cantonese there. And what was way cool was that most employees in the Chinese shops and restaurants spoke with me naturally just like I was in Hong Kong. In other words, they treated me pretty much like any other customer rather than making a fuss about my Cantonese. There even was a 20ish young woman in a bakery who clarified a few words for me (一件,一隻同埋一舊). When I mentioned to her that I planned to go to Hong Kong next year to study more Cantonese, she suggested that I really didn’t need to and that I would do fine by listening to Cantonese TV programs and studying with a tutor. With her cute smile and helpful manner, she would make a perfect tutor! If Hong Kong doesn't work out for some reason, it's nice to know that Vancouver would be a good substitute.  ¶ 1:07 AM