The Return

Loyal followers, fans, and the like,

I'm back after a long blog hiatus. I won't tell you what happened during the intermission, because it stresses me out to think about all the things I could say, but welcome back to my life.

I leave for Yunnan (province in Southern China) on Friday for two weeks with my best friend Rebekah. I am beyond excited. Words cannot express. If you're bored, look up the following places and imagine me in them: Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri la, Tiger Leaping Gorge, and Yuanyang. We'll be backpacking and taking buses around the province. It's going to be an adventure and I'm sooooooooooooooooooo excited! I have an intense backpack and some sweet waterproof hiking boots, so I'm pretty much set. Rebekah wants to sneak into Laos too, but I'm not sure it's worth it. I want to thoroughly explore Laos and Cambodia on another trip.

I just got a new teaching job which I'll write more about another time, but I'm looking forward to a change when I return to work August 23rd. Life has been good this summer - I had best friends and family come visit, and it was wonderful! It was also really sad to tell them bye, and I'm still recovering.

Another comment about my weight today. My Chinese teacher asked me if she was a little fatter. I said no, of course. Then I felt like it was my turn to ask if I was a little fatter, too. I had several motives behind this question: 1) it was awkward and I felt like I was supposed to ask. 2) I'm actually a little thinner than I was a few months ago, so I was secretly hoping for a complement. And what did I get? Yeah, you're a little fatter then when I first met you. Fail. I'll never be as thin or pretty as she first thought I was. My teacher also recently told me I looked tired. I told her it was because I wasn't wearing makeup, and since my skin is fair I tend to have dark circles under my eyes. She responded by telling me I should wear makeup. She has also told me stories about how the teachers talked about a dress I wore one day and how beautiful it was, and now how I wear shorts and sandals. Can I do anything right???

Then, as I was walking down the street tonight, a Chinese guy says "好瘦" which means "how/so/very skinny." I heard this, processed it, realized he was talking to me, then turned around to look at him and got confirmation. Weird. Make up your mind, China.