u/ReginaPhilange10

I’m travelling from England to China in August. It's my first trip outside Europe, going on a G Adventures group tour.

I’ve travelled in Europe before and mainly used my Monzo card, but I know China is quite different for payments so I’m not sure what to expect.

A few questions:

How much cash should I realistically take for a ~2 week trip? Is it still possible to use UK cards (like Monzo) at all in China, or is it mostly cash / mobile payments? Is it worth setting up Alipay or WeChat Pay as a tourist? Any advice on the best setup so I don’t get stuck without payment options?

Most accommodation and transport are covered by the tour, so I mainly need spending money for food, drinks, tips, and extras.

Any advice from people who’ve been would be really appreciated!

Just finished Tough Guy and I have so many feelings about Ryan Price.

I originally only picked it up because of Ryan's appearance in The Long Game and I was curious about his story. I'd only read Heated Rivalry and The Long Game so far, but I ended up relating to Ryan much more than I expected.

His anxiety, self-esteem issues, constantly second-guessing himself... that all felt painfully familiar. Seeing him find Fabian made me so happy because Ryan spends so much of the book carrying around fear and doubt.

What really got me, though, was the hockey situation. Ryan obviously loves hockey. He just doesn't love fighting. It made me so sad that he was put in a position where he basically had to choose between protecting himself and continuing the career he sacrificed so much for.

I know a lot of people love Role Model, and I'm sure I'll get there eventually, but right now I'm not ready for a Troy redemption arc. I know Ryan eventually gets his man and seems happy. But at the end of Tough Guy I'm still stuck feeling sad for him.

Maybe that's why Ryan's story hit me so hard. It feels unfinished. Does he ever find something else he's passionate about after hockey? I hope we get to see more of him in Unrivalled.

I’m autistic and I’m trying to understand whether this is mainly an autism-related processing issue, a workplace dynamic issue, or both.

In group work settings (meetings, away days, open discussions), I often experience:

-being interrupted or not really acknowledged

-feeling like what I said gets reframed or misunderstood

-harsher pushback if my opinion is different

Afterwards, I tend to replay the whole interaction repeatedly and spiral into anxiety and low mood. I worry I said something wrong and it's damaged how I’m perceived at work. And I struggle to move on emotionally, sometimes for days

I also feel like I stand out in my workplace in multiple ways (autism, as well as being the only person of colour in my team and from a working-class background which comes through in my accent and communication style). I genuinely feel like I'm treated differently and I can't pinpoint why or prove it really.

My main questions are:

Does anyone else experience this pattern in group work environments? Is this more about autism / communication differences, workplace culture, or both? How do you stop the post-meeting rumination and emotional crash?