Perhaps not something I would have “advised” a graduating student on a Fulbright to do, but still… pretty neat:

Rachel Katz Hitchhiked Across China.

“Trucks crowd the road, grunting, bundled in tarps and rope, lopsided in places, trundling along in a cloud of dust. They are like a fleet of bellowing whales submerged in the night, each vying for a spot at the front of the pack.”