Just wanted to write a quick update.
Transitions, transitions. They are truly difficult. I don't feel the same as I did two posts ago. Now that I'm about to leave Kunming (for what? where? not sure yet, but I'm 95% sure I'm leaving China), I love it.
The life here is so easy, so amazing! I've just been sucked in. I can get massages for three bucks, facials for eight, a meal for two (and not just noodles!), an apartment to myself for less than two hundred a month, etc etc.
Chinese culture? Of course it's confusing, and it's bitten me in the ass more than once - especially since I look Chinese - but in the end, sometimes things work out so strangely that all you can do is smile. Don't like China? Complaining about it often? Leave. No, seriously.
I am truly picking the worst time to leave, though. The economy is horrible, I don't know what's going on with my life, I can't get a job. But if I stay here much longer, I'm just gonna get sucked in. Or I'll revert back to the me-a-few-months-ago, whining about being here for too long.
Now is the perfect time to go. I'm gonna miss it so much, and when I come back, it won't be the same. I never want to be just a tourist, which may be part of the reason I keep going back to the same places over and over again, rather than exploring new parts of China. (Though my summer may hopefully include a trip to Gansu and Xinjiang, two must-see places on my list.) It's nice to be recognized, to be able to communicate with people, to really try to connect.
China, you've been good to me. Sorry if I'm being corny, but I have about a month left and I'm scareed!!
PS, BTW, if you talk to my dad, don't tell him anything. I'm avoiding him at all costs due to the fact that I have no answers for any of his questions :)
