Many foods in China translation into English in the form of “body part” of “animal.”

I was the only apparent foreigner in the room, fresh off the plane, and feeling out of place swimming in the unfamiliar sea of Cantonese inflections, chops sticks, and exotic culinary smells. And that’s when the day’s second surprise occurred to me…

Rule #1 in travel writing, according to the cliché, is to never use clichés. But, for my first entry in my efforts to write my way around the world, I am going to be cliché and break rule #1. But, its not my fault, I’ll blame John Denver for this one.

The last stop on the first US leg of my journey took me to my favorite major American City: San Francisco. Included are some photos.

I packed up what remained of my possessions in six Rubbermaid containers (to be put into storage) and put everything I’d need for the next two years in my backpack. Total weight: 37 lbs (15.8kg).

After three years of researching, planning, and scheming, and after three weeks of selling, packing, cleaning, and goodbyes, I closed one chapter in my life to begin another, as I set off in an attempt to travel around-the-world in two years…I drove out of Iowa City headed Westward on Interstate 80—knowing the next time I came to Iowa it would be from the East.