Ninja Travelers

According to my dad, Chinese movies always seem to have ninjas, whether or not they have anything to do with the plot. This strikes me as greatly amusing, right up there with the English sign translations gone wrong. And while his assessment is probably based on a grand total of less than 5 movies, it does seem to reflect a certain randomness in the culture that I wholeheartedly support. My parents' departure date for Shanghai is quickly approaching, and since I'm the only kid still in town during the packing process, most of the "extra" stuff is ending up at my apartment. This seems to me to be a good system. Unfortunately it looks like my trip to China will be postponed until next spring though, based on schedule mismatches with Mark and Luke coming to Boise the day after Christmas.

The Europe plans are coming together nicely, with lodging and transportation nearly solidified. We're staying at a cute place in Venice that overlooks a canal, and I can't wait to ride on my first train! I have learned about a dozen words each in German and Italian, and would like to take the time to learn a few more phrases before I leave in two weeks, but we'll see how that goes. Fortunately my friend Mike keeps stubbornly speaking to me in German, so I'm picking up some words here and there -- some more useful than others. :)

Hopefully I will have time to post updates at various points along the trip, but regardless I will definitely take lots of pictures and have stories to report when we return. And since I'm barely getting back in time for the first concert of the year, it gives me the rare and lovely opportunity to listen and watch from the audience instead of from the stage.