Less to Write about from this side of the ocean

I have been back in America for almost three weeks now and I find that I really don't know what to blog about. It is definitely weird to be back, but I don't necessarily feel like I am experiencing "culture shock". Things about American culture do not bother me now any more than they did three years ago. So what I am going through now is more like life-style shock and transition frustration (just like what I went through the two summers I spent at home during college). I have been a free spirit, traveling and doing things on my own, for 3 years (if you don't count college), and now I am back living with my parents. I also really miss city life. I miss walking downstairs (or taking the elevator) and being surrounded by people, riding the bus and meeting new people, buying fruit and vegetables from streetside vendors, and walking a lot.
Before I came back, I knew that Plano has a high Asian population, but wow! Plano has a high Asian population. I know of four Asian markets within a twenty minute drive from my house, and they are mostly Chinese! There are also a lot of new Thai, Indian, and Vietnamese places. I am still working on how to build relationships with some of these Chinese speakers.
One last thing. Though I may not be working with Chinese right now, I am tutoring four Korean kids. It is a pretty good job before starting back to school.

The back of my shirt says "Foreigner Goes". I thought it was an appropriate shirt for the occasion. My Chinese friends thought it was really funny!

A few friends came with me to the airport to send me off. It is the Chinese way. I rented a van so that they could all come with me. Several of my closest friends could not come because of school conflict. The two pictured above work in my building and we frequently ate dinner together.

"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go..."- I thought about that song a lot this week. It was crazy getting everything I needed packed into three suitcases (60kg in all) and then getting rid of everything else, while at the same time saying goodbye to all of my friends and giving final lessons. It was such a blessed week though and so full of joy. This is in my apartment right before I left.