Hello friends from Guangzhou. In this vlog, I’m back home in China to celebrate my dad’s birthday (a little belated, because his and my little sister’s birthdays are two days apart) and to finally get some quality time with my parents. I hadn’t seen them since Thanksgiving, and I’ve been feeling pretty homesick lately—so being here, walking around the neighborhood we’ve lived in for over 20 years, honestly brought up a lot. I talk about how I used to run along the river here when I was like 11 or 12, and how different it feels now that my parents don’t really cook at home anymore and we’re not doing those big, lively family dinners the same way. I also bring you along for very real daily life in Guangzhou: lots of eating out, shopping with my mom (she’s a professional shopper and can walk for hours), and me trying to find two dresses for a wedding in Taiwan… with zero luck so far. We take breaks, I grab drinks (yes, I still find my way back to Charlie’s Tea), and I share some of the skincare I picked up for my mom—some PR I tested and loved enough to buy for her too. It’s a cozy, homesick-but-grateful kind of vlog, and the start of my mini travel series.