I've had an emotionally productive last few days

I've been working on surgically removing the mental and emotional crap from my life, and focusing on the friends I have rather than stressing over the ones I don't. I have also been reminding myself often how blessed I am to have friends, family, a secure job to pay the bills, and exciting opportunities on the horizon.

Apparently the university in Nanjing didn't get my documents together, so my contact in China has put me in touch with a different school in a smaller city between Nanjing and Shanghai where I would be teaching English and dance. This just happened a couple days ago, though, so I'll probably get to play the waiting game again, but at least I've been put in contact specifically with someone at the school. It's still all very exciting, and I'm ready to have something for certain so I can buy that plane ticket and all. Mandarin is still going, just in spurts rather than steadily. I've just learned my basic colors! Tonight a friend asked me if I knew how to say "I love you" yet; I don't, but I do know how to say "cat" and "dog" and "drink tea". The tough thing about learning on your own is that you don't have anyone to practice with like in a language class, and to people who don't know it sounds like gibberish, literally like the caricature of itself that people use when making fun of it.

I had a great night tonight getting to hang out with old friends and meeting a couple new ones, and soon Keen will be home for the summer, so I won't be as bored. Also, I'm getting VERRRRY excited for my friends' wedding, Matt and Rachel, in late May in Missouri. All of our friends from college will be there and we're actually going to all be staying at one friend's house...a giant sleepover! It's probably going to be one of the best weekends ever.

"soy como un ave que vuelve a su nido"