goodbyes and hellos

I write this as a very sad lady. This week is our last week of class. I can’t believe the end is coming so fast. I feel like I have gotten to know our teachers so well and have grown to really love them and enjoy class with them. Learning the language is so much fun, now that we can learn more complex things and we graduated to only reading our text in characters this semester. It is truly amazing how far we have come in less than one year, and we only have ChuLaoshi and MaLaoshi to thank (and dad). But I don’t know where we would be if it wasn’t for all of their help: MaLaoshi telling us what they really say, not just what the book says; the look of happiness on their faces when we make a good sentence; their deep concern for us when we have problems (missing my train and our power that sporadically turns off); and the fact that ChuLaoshi LOVES teaching us.

Us with MaLaoshi back in March

I don’t know how to begin to thank them. For putting up with our tardiness, for our asking to not have class because we want to visit our friends, for being so so so very patient with us and for sharing their lives with us. I will really really miss them. Gah now I am crying again.

Anyway, the next few months will be so hectic for me. This is our last week of class, next week is our week to say goodbye to friends on campus. Then we go to another city to visit friends for a birthday party. The day we come back, a friend from the states arrives to stay with us for a few days and help us to prepare to come back to the states. Aubrey goes home on the 28th. On the 29th, laura!!!! Comes to my city, and we get to travel around EA for a while :D then, on the 15th?of july, I leave for a month-long trip to C. Asia. Will return to E. Asia on August 15th? And then head back to the states shortly after. Crazy whirlwind of coming and going, goodbyes and hellos.

Even though it is about 2 months away, I am already to get pretty nervous about my re-entry to the western world. I have lived so long out of touch with so many things. Movies, music, tv-shows, fashion! Back in February, we wanted to go see a movie in the theater, so we called the theatre to hear the movies playing. Everything was in ‘East Asian,’ but we heard “Au da li ya” (Australia), so we thought there was movie from Australia playing. So we went to the theatre to find out that the movie was called ‘Australia’ and apparently had been out for a while. Oops. The other day I started seeing facebook status’ saying “haha at the hangover!” by like 246178 of my friends. I thought it was pretty strange that they were talking about their hangovers on fbook, until I realized it was a movie. :/ also, the other day I went shoe shopping, a pair caught my eye, and I thought, “OH that is cute! Oh wait, is that cute? I don’t know what to think anymore!?!” I don’t know if my fashion sense has been greatly impaired by the number of sock-and-sandal wearing bra-less wonders of this land.

All this to say: I’m pretty much going to be a mess when I come back. My English sucks, I have no fashion sense, and I don’t know what music you’ve been listening to for the last year. So please, bear with me as I readjust to proper table manners, driving, and speaking English on a regular basis.