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Nick and I left Los Angeles at 6:30 p.m. on January 31st, a gaggle of west-coast relatives waving us off, and arrived in Fiji at 2 a.m. on February 2nd to an empty airport. We'd flown right over February 1st, passing the international dateline, and though we would recoup that day, hour by hour, on our yearlong westward journey, I never got over the sense of feeling a little cheated.
Nick and I left Los Angeles at 6:30 p.m. on January 31st, a gaggle of west-coast relatives waving us off, and arrived in Fiji at 2 a.m. on February 2nd to an empty airport. We’d flown right over February 1st, passing the international dateline, and though we would recoup that day, hour by hour, on our yearlong westward journey, I never got over the sense of feeling a little cheated.

To mix it up further, Tonga's fakaleiti possessed such distinctly male and female traits. Nowhere was this more apparent than on the netball court where they would prance around, shouting, 'Dahling, over here' when they were open for a pass and do that hand-flappy thing girls do when they run. But when the play got going, the going got rough. Makeup ran with sweat, talons were torn off, torsos bruised with body blows.
To mix it up further, Tonga’s fakaleiti possessed such distinctly male and female traits. Nowhere was this more apparent than on the netball court where they would prance around, shouting, “Dahling, over here” when they were open for a pass and do that hand-flappy thing girls do when they run. But when the play got going, the going got rough. Makeup ran with sweat, talons were torn off, torsos bruised with body blows.

All dolled up before a night out at the Blue Pacific.
All dolled up before a night out at the Blue Pacific.

In Beijing, a pair of art students who called themselves Yanni and Alan adopted me for the duration of my stay. They took me to the student neighborhoods, the vanishing hutong neighborhoods, and the Muslim neighborhoods like this one where you could get a tasty meal for less than a buck.
In Beijing, a pair of art students who called themselves Yanni and Alan adopted me for the duration of my stay. They took me to the student neighborhoods, the vanishing hutong neighborhoods, and the Muslim neighborhoods like this one where you could get a tasty meal for less than a buck.