3 More Months and Easter

I was trying to think of something to write, but bombed on ideas. So, I guess I'll just inform all you avid readers that I'll be arriving back in the U.S. on July 13th. Lindsey and I are counting down the days (99) until we leave. We really can't wait to get back to New England clam chowder, good beer, people that speak a language we always understand, family and friends, and of course, the pool at my family's new house. I think I'll be a little sad about leaving, but I sure won't be balling as the train pulls away from Panzhihua. I do love this place for all it's idiosyncrasies, but we're just looking forward to the future.

Just this past weekend Lindsey and I held a little Easter party for the other volunteers here in Panzhihua. I made a rocking pasta sauce from scratch, then we made pasta, garlic bread, cookies, and colored eggs. It was a good time, but nothing noteworthy happened.

In other news, I decided to start learning Italian. Why you may ask in confusion...let me tell you. It takes roughly seven years to achieve fluency in Chinese and truthfully I'm just bored of the Chinese language. While it looks great on the resume, I'm never going to speak Chinese fluently, nor do I want to or need to. The level I'm already at will be perfect in the States as a secret language with Lindsey, impressing Chinese restaurant workers, and making fun of my friends. Truthfully, what else do you need? So, I figured I'd fill up some spare time by working through an online Italian course. My Mother suggested Spanish because it would be more useful, but Italian actually interests me and it bring me closer to fulfilling my second grade goal of becoming Italian.

I suppose the cliche would be saying that, "I don't know where the time went!" Which in part, is true. I really can't believe that I'm almost done here, but it has been a long time. In many ways, I feel as if I've lived an entire life in China, a life that will be difficult to convey to my family and friends because of their limited participation in it and a lack of true comprehension that can only come from seeing, smelling, feeling, and knowing this place. When I return home, I'll be stepping back into shoes that may no longer fit. Yet, I'm excited as hell to run through the airport and see my family after two years and introduce them to the new member of the family.