real life rundown

i've been reminded of how miserably i'm failing in the world of journal upkeep. i declare to all my faithful readers that next year will be different…perhaps.

it seems i'm now faced with months of updating in this entry. we'll start with…

THE PAST

chinese new year we spent traveling through vietnam, cambodia and thailand. because there's too much to tell i'll sum up what i loved about each country in one word: vietnam - history; cambodia - people; thailand - outdoors. i actually didn't expect to enjoy thailand as much as i did (the whole everyone who travels to asia goes to thailand so it must be over-toured-and-under-interesting assumption) but i was mistaken. they were all so amazing in their own respect; one thing i relished was studying up on the history of each culture before traveling there. i think it gave a different angle than my usual "let's travel where the wind blows and figure it out along the way"… although i plan to continue exploiting both methods in future endeavors.

after the month off we came back to teaching and decided to coach the international school soccer teams. between teaching, tutoring, parenting, coaching and volunteering as a nurse in the clinic i've been busier than i expected (paul is doing all of these with the exception of nursing) but i wouldn't trade this year for anything. i feel lucky enough to experience just as much outer stretching as inner stretching in this oh so foreign land.  *note on stretching* we recently took part in a bible study over a seven week period on parenting teenagers and through that i've uncovered a lot of my own faulted ideas (whether perceived or acquired) and have been stretched far beyond what's normal for your everyday narcissist.

THE PRESENT

two weeks left of teaching woobahoobahollacupala! it's been a rough year of work, what with teaching ten out of twelve months,  having about seven weeks off within that time period and traveling through asia. however i am tutoring the most troublesome, tenacious, independent, stubborn and awesome kid china has to offer. i beg you, dear readers, research "little emperor syndrome" and perhaps you'll get a glimpse into my sunday and thursday nights. a small glimpse.

[funny jane story. i have taught that child the words for basic body parts countless times and still she confuses  things like hair and hand. but one time, ONE TIME, she pointed to the mole on my neck and i told her what it was and now she never fails to point at my neck and yell "MOLE!" whenever she notices it. go figure]

paul has been appointed a deacon in the foreign fellowship we go to once a week (the handful of foreigners one finds in a chinese city of eleven million) and i'm thrilled because it seems like he's rediscovering his true passions here. i, on the other hand, have been worked on every angle. family, what to do about my education (i still want to complete a nurse practitioner but also feel a yearning towards a masters in something along the lines of cellular and molecular biology), faith, beahviors, and the list goes on...and on....and on. all that sounds like a burden but to be honest  i'm in the best place, mentally, i've been in my entire life (though that may not be saying much).

we've been scaling the proverbial mountain that one encounters when going from absolute freedom to raising a teenager, and in particular a teenager who's been in as much trouble as beau. the paradigm shift between being responsible only for myself (and paul) to having to put beau's needs before my own has been embarrassingly difficult for me. beau certainly doesn't make it easy and there are a thousand dynamics one could only presume upon in a situation such as this but needless to say that after a year i feel like we are finally on the cusp of true investment. i'm not just speaking investing in the motions but a true revolution of the soul. i'm also finding that though this was never in the plan it has reshaped our future. when we have children, if we have children, i understand more what i do and don't want for them and there's a lot in american culture that i could do without. i'm not looking to delve into the age old "kids these days" but i do find that the materialism often leads to a lack of substance that i yearn for in my own [potentially future] children.

THE FUTURE

i'm so geeked for the summertime. the eight week rundown: north carolina to visit family, backpacking in tennessee for our four year anniversary, road trip with my sister and her boyfriend to colorado (and every stop along the way), spreading my dad's ashes on the rocky mountains, paul's brother's wedding and then michigan for some recouping before we hop along back to china.

we've signed contracts with jianghan university and are officially coming back another year!

tentative thoughts for our month off next year: malaysia and singapore.

also, potentially the most fantastic idea during the summer of 2013 for our five year anniversary! stay tuned.

finito. i really do need to work on updating more as i have a far greater appreciation for reading journals that portray a depth of thought rather than a sequence of events. it seems when the gap is this large all one can really do is produce five months in the form of projectile word vomit.