This is the view straight outside the front door of my building. Soon I’ll be going a lot further than this – I’ll be visiting my brother, who is living in China now. I’ve always had a knack for language, but I’ll be in a place where I can’t read the signs, and can’t understand the chatter around me, and the thought is frightening.

I hate to be rushed – you know, like I am now, getting ready to leave – so I won’t be trying to cover great swaths of that enormous country, but I will try to truly see whatever I look at. And come back with some good pictures.