Happy New Year!

After a week in bed with the flu, the festivities in my neighborhood for Chinese New Year's eve were a rousing way to rejoin the living. This was the scene outside my front gate from about 10:00pm until 1:00am last night. Twelve hours later the air is still filled with sound and smoke.

I'll be on the road for the next week, driving through Anhui province to visit friends who are home for the holidays. I'll send updates of my travels as often as I can get an internet connection.