Saint here. It's pretty quiet in the house this morning; the old dame and the kid left in the middle of the night and the old dame came back alone, and now the kid is somewhere between here and China.
I know what you're thinking--I used to think "china" was something I could find in the back yard if I dug deep enough. I know better now--that was just a little joke the old dame was having at the expense of a gullible young pup. Not my idea of humor, but so long as the biscuits keep coming I'm a good sport about it. I know now that China is a place, and you don't get there by digging a hole in the back yard. You get there by flying half way around the world. The kid is going to a city called "Beijing", and it's twelve hours later there than it is here.
The kid's gonna be gone for 9 and a half weeks, studying for 8 weeks with a week off to travel around. It's all going to be new and strange. I remember how new and strange it was when I came to live here as a young pup, and I had a long talk with the kid, trying to impart a few words of wisdom.
And then we just cuddled for a while.
The old dame made the kid an author on the blog, here, so the plan is for him to find an internet cafe or a connection at the university and blog about his trip. The old dame said he made no promises as to how soon he'd get online, so we'll just have to wait and check the blog from time to time and see what pops up on the screen.
I feel certain your words of wisdom were warmly welcomed. Certainly, the lad looks attentive to what you're saying to him in the photo.
I think he listens to me. You know how it is with humans--sometimes you wish they could speak your language.