Leaving

Today was my last full day in China. These last ten days in China have been a whirlwind. It feels like I've been here longer than ten days only because I've done so much in these days. It's been wonderful spending so much time with people and making more memories with them. I'm so sad to leave and so goodbye to these people that I've come to love so much. I'm spending the night with a friend tonight as I've given away everything in my house and it's empty now. I leave tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at 8:00am to head to the Yinchuan airport. I leave Beijing at 4:00pm tomorrow afternoon and will arrive same day :) into Greensboro, NC at 10:15pm. What a long Wednesday! It's so crazy that I'll be in America soon. I can't believe it! I'm sad to leave here and excited to be there. I can't wait to see you all and talk with you and share everything that has happened!

Need to go?

Lately I've noticed that there are a lot of toilets sitting out by the trash. I know the reason seems obvious-"they're broken". But really? So many toilets breaking at the same time? Seems odd...

Beijing Marathon

So by now you all know that I didn't run in the marathon and I wasn't upset about it. But I did go to watch and cheer on my friends. Here are our memories...Julie and I before the race, Julie and Shelley before and then Shelley, Miha and I after Shelley finished the half marathon and then Julie and I after she finished the marathon. It's our tradition after every run that we give each a high five so we kept that tradition going for this last run.

Elf

So I'm home sick today. I've been in bed all day except to get dinner at the restaurant outside of my gate. I ordered fried rice for the fast time in this country. Can you believe that?

I'm sick and watching Elf. Yes, it's a Christmas movie-I know. But it's the movie I watch when I'm sick. It lifts my mood and makes me smile. :)

And my goodness the air is so crisp and clean outside. The leaves are changing and it smells of Fall. It's quite cold, which is why I'm sick. But the sky is beautiful and I love the smells that come with it!

One more week in China. This time next week I'll be on my international flight back to the States. I can't believe it.

Here, there and then back again

So...went to Thailand for five weeks. Soooo good! I was in Beijing this past weekend. It was the weekend of the marathon. I didn't run in it though. I decided not to. But I was there to cheer my friends on as they ran! And my goodness was it crazy! 30,000 people ran in the Beijing International Marathon and thousands more were watching. Mayhem, mayhem, mayhem...but also really exciting!

So now I'm back in Yinchuan and extremely busy! I'm packing up my house, selling stuff, giving it away, baking :) and saying goodbye to those I've come to love and care about. Got a lot to do and it's going to be hard. I've got some good pics from Thailand and from this weekend that I'll share with you. And I'll be back in the States on October 29th. Looking forward to visiting and seeing everyone!

Is it Burma or Myanmar?

Nowadays it's Myanmar but the people of that country still refer to themselves as Burmese and the country that they live in as Burma. Therefore, out of respect for them, I'm calling the country Burma from here on out.

I went there yesterday. Quick trip. I am in Thailand 40 days or something and my visa expires after 30. So yesterday I headed out with a friend I met here at The Juniper Tree and we drove to Burma. Quite crazy really. Took a map and sack lunch and headed out. Great fun! Crossed the border, got a new visa and came back. And then stayed in Chiang Rai, Thailand for the night before driving back to Chiang Mai, Thailand this morning. We actually just arrived at 3:45pm. Great drive through the mountains of Thailand and a great deal on two orchids. $10!