Seeing a Chinese Dentist

Well, wouldn't you know? Just because you tell the dentist you see in America a week before leaving the country that you can't possibly have oral surgery done does not mean that your mouth finds a way to magically heal itself. No, it just means you get to have that oral surgery in China! I happen to be super lucky and have not just a wisdom tooth that needed to be pulled but a nice little case of gingivitis. I swear I brush my teeth two times a day...why do they hate me all of a sudden? I've put it off as long as I could, but at some point realized I wasn't going to make it the whole year so I might as well get the pain in my mouth checked out. Sarah in the office was incredibly helpful and found a nice little dental cli it downtown with an English speaking doctor! (Only one though, and not perfect English, but pretty good.) 

It is a smaller clinic, but wasn't butcher shop reminiscent as a friend insisted all Chinese dentists were. This one even took a stab at western style decorations with an aquarium in the lobby!

You have to hand it to communist countries, they provide super affordable healthcare. My checkup was absolutely free. Then Dr.Zhou started preparing the gum by working at it with some kind of medicine for two weeks that only cost 50 rmb ($8.50) a session. This week was the big one. They numbed the area, and since I didn't get the luxury of getting knocked out by gas, I just tried to keep my eyes shut so I didn't have to see three Chinese people huddled over my face holding various sharp looking instruments. They literally sewed up my gums (I didn't even know you could do that!) and then holding my head still with one arm and pulling on the tooth with the other, Zhou yanked the wisdom tooth out. Surprisingly quickly I must say for such a skinny guy. The total cost for both operations? 300 rmb (50$). I even got some medicine and painkillers thrown in for free.

In summary, going to the dentist in China for surgery is not that bad. It's not the most enjoyable thing in the world, but that's the nature of dentistry. My recommendation for anyone who finds themselves in a similar position, make sure the doctor speaks English and takes his time to explain to you exactly what it is that he is going to do before hand. The last thing you'd want is to have a mouth full of gaping holes after a visit!

And....here's a gross shot of my bloody tooth and the crazy things that were in my mouth:

Hong Kong vs China

Until I met a someone who was from Hong Kong, I'll admit I was ignorant of the distinction between the special economic zone and the country of China. To me, they both spoke Chinese (which technically they do but it's Cantonese and mandarin, which are as different asPortuguese and Spanish) so were the same. However, I can say having been there even though just ever so briefly, that that previous assumption is not true. Hong Kong really is not China. They'd been under colonial rule since the mid-1850s and it feels it. Hong Kong really is like a slightly asian-ed version of Britian. They've got the double decker buses, driving on the wrong side of the road (ha!) , every western food imaginable - including Mrs. Fields Cookies - street names I can actually pronounce and a crap ton of white people to boot!

But while it was nice to feel pretty much back home, I have to admit I kind of missed China. Well, no I did miss China, and I really missed Wuxi. What can I say? Ive been here nearly three months, and the place has really grown on me. I mean come on Hong Kong, why are you so stingy with the honking? Don't you know that you should just lay it on even if there's no one around? Or what about spitting? You mean to tell me you actually do swallow your spit? And taxi drivers speak english? So we dont need to do a five minute back and forth of all the possible ways to say "Chun Jiang Hua Yuan" everytime I try to go home? Oh, and what is this Cantonese thing? I just got 你好 down! You can't change it up on me now! And I know there are non-Chinese people all around, but not even a second glance? Here I'm guaranteed at least the basic triple take. I'm just saying, while Hong Kong was a nice reminder of home, don't be fooled into thinking its a slice of China. That's a completely different animal.

Why Chinese Kids are Smarter Than Us

It's funny how quickly people adjust to new surroundings. Now that I've been here for a little while, I've gotten used to the Shane teaching schedule. And having  gotten used to it as a creature of habit, it really throws me for a loop when it changes. China is not America. When there is a holiday, it isn't really a vacation. The kids might have the day off but you can bet that they're going to have to make it up sooner or later. Who needs a two day weekend when you've already had one day off during the week? What, you think you can have days off from school for free? Absolutely not. And we generally work the most when the kids are out of school, so when the weekend moves around, so does our work schedule. That's right, not only do you not actually get holidays, but sorry Chinese children - in your free time you get to go to extra English school! No wonder sometimes they just seem burned out. At least Shane accommodates our western mindset that vacation means vacation, so our working schedule all evens out eventually. Still, the past week and this one as well have been so screwy and it's completely thrown me off. It's just tiring. The hardest part of this job Id say would be planning. You only work about 20 teaching hours but for each hour in the classroom you have to do AT LEAST an hour of preparation (or at least I do at this point). And then when days keep getting switched around and you don't have as much time to plan when you normally would or whatever...I really can't complain though. The kids are great, and honestly they're the ones who get screwed the most with this whole "holiday but not really" policy. Come on China, stop working so damn hard all the time!

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone!

Mooncake! Wonder what's inside this one....

After rearranging our teaching schedules slightly, we have today off in celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival. It seems to be a time when everybody hangs out with their family and eats these little pastries called mooncakes. A mooncake, I've found, is like a Wonderball. Remember those old commercials for them and the all too catchy jingle "Wonder wonder what's in a wonderball"? Well, just like the 90s candy, every mooncake is a surprise. Sometimes you luck out and get a delicious and surprisingly sweet one (oh my gosh China, you DO know what sugar is!) but more often than not you're likely to get some kind of mystery meat/vegetable concoction or a mouthful of confusingly spicy mush. But while everybody else will be stuffing their faces with mooncakes, I plan on attempting to navigate the Chinese railway to go visit some friends in Suzhou!


We (the other new teachers in Wuxi and I) met our friends in Suzhou during the week long TEFL training course in Beijing. How to describe that week? It was an exhausting schedule, we were in training from 9 in the morning until 5 at night every single day for 7 days. There was an attempt to see some sights in Beijing, but by the time we finished and got off the subway at the Forbidden City and Tiannamen Square, they were closed. Yes, they close down around six when the army comes and marches around people know its time to leave.That was disappointing, but we did manage to make the most of the time there by going out to different bar and social areas almost every night. While I can't say that I learned anything of any value, I will say that it was a worthwhile experience because of the people that I got to meet. I now have very close friends who I know I can visit and stay with (and in fact will during the next holiday) in cities like Hefei, Yantei, and Suzhou. The training is a government mandated requirement for the work visa if you are under 25, so if anyone is thinking of teaching here of that age, it's something that you'll have to do. Shane English is really good though, because they paid for the course ($500 USD) the hotel (300 rmb a night) and the train rides there (total about 1000 rmb) whereas other programs did not.

It's good to be back though. This week, because of the holiday, had been a long one, but the next two will be short three and four day weeks before we get a

week off. The kids are starting to remember my name and I think (I hope!) enjoy the classes. Some are more of a challenge than others, but the TAs at my school are all incredibly kind and helpful and the older, more experienced teachers go out of their way to help as well.

All in all, Dongting school has a great work environment. Everyone takes pride in their job, and you can tell that they enjoy what they do. And good news! The female teacher population will double as of next week! Haha a new girl from California is joining the staff, so I won't be the single female or single American voice in the office anymore! Woohoo!

That's probably enough of an update for now. I've gotten to know Wuxi slightly better, but man is this place big and there don't seem to be any real maps (in English) anywhere so exploring inevitably leads to getting lost. Fortunately, Chinese people are the nicest and there will always be someone wanting to practice their English to help me get back. I'll leave off with nice pictures from my 4 hour bike ride to Lake Tai adventure yesterday. Enjoy!

Ancient Canal Street

Ermergard Chiner

Well, it's been nearly a month since my last post (whoops!) and a lot has happened - the biggest being that Im in China!!!!! AAAHAHA! Ireland already feels like a lifetime away. China is so different from anywhere I've ever been, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. My Chinese is absolutely abysmal, limited to nothing but names and numbers, but after talking to some people who have been here for some years, it seems that one can get by here well enough with simply pointing and pantomiming. I do want to learn though, but it will require buckling down and signing up for classes probably. Who knows, it might even help me with my own teaching to be on the other side.

Shane English has been great to me so far. All of the other teachers have been incredibly kind and helpful, going out of their way to give me advice and make sure that I feel comfortable. There are four school locations, and mine is in Dongting. Dongting did not waste anytime with me, and Ive pretty much had a full schedule since I got here. The kids are quite adorable, but the little ones are fairly rambunctious. It'll be interesting to see how they react to me considering that the general dynamics of the place seem to be male foreign head teachers and female Chinese TAs in the classroom. Ben, my roommate for the moment and I got here two weeks earlier than originally supposed to, so we've had a hodgepodge of quick training before being thrown to the wolves if you will. I've got a full teaching weekend ahead, with four classes on Saturday and Sunday each. Lesson planning seems to take me about two hours per hour and a half class, so I've been rather busy. Next week, Im going to Beijing for a week long training which Im really looking forward to. Ben and I will be moving out of our shared apartment, which is kind of sad since we're both going to be getting places a lot less nice. But we can't stay in the one that we've been squatting in, so out we go!

As per Amy's suggestion, I'll try to keepthis post short and give just a brief overview of my first impressions of Wuxi: Blonde women don't exist here, and culturally staring at something so out of the ordinary as one is perfectly acceptable; Chinese parents love it when a foreigner talks to their kid; It's really flipping hot here; Public transport, food, and clothes are really cheap -Beers at the western bars are not; youll pay an arm and a leg for any beer with above a 3% alcohol content; things are surprisingly kept clean here, but there does appear to be a small population of stray animals wandering around; if give  a meal with both chopsticks and a spoon, it is best to work together with the two for minimal mess making; you will make a mess eating just about everything, it's ok, there's no dignified way around it; food is delicious but definitely not healthy - people must eat about a liter of oil a day; No matter how forcefully you say "ting bu dong" (I don't understand) people will continue to speak Chinese at you; stereotypes come from truth and Chinese people are terrible drivers; it will be a miracle if I don't get hit by a car at some point. Really there's so much more I could say, but I think this list is long enough. Overall, I love it here! Everyday is an adventure and I am so happy that I decided to do this!

One last thing, now that I'm sort of settling in, posts should come a lot more regularly. Maybe.

Moving Eastward

The end has come at last. After a ridiculousIy long travel day to rival any others that I've had to do so far, I am finally in China. I have to admit, I'm more than a little scared, but I think my excitement by far outweighs the fear. It's crazy how quickly Ireland flew by though! I cant stop thinking about how lucky I was to have met so many wonderfully kind and funny people, all with my best friend beside me. I still cant believe the trip came to pass when it seemed like there were so many things that would stop it: money, timing, logistics, you name it. Yet we made it, and if there is anyone out there who is possibly thinking about wwoofing in the future, absolutely do it! You put a little bit of work in but get so much more out of it than just food and lodging. 

Elaine let us stay in her beautiful Victorian era house in Bray, a seaside town on the outskirts of Dublin. We only made it to the city for one day, but managed to cram a good bit of touristy stuff in. I naturally had to go to the Guinness factory for the tour and chance to pour the "perfect pint". It was well worth it, I'd say. The Gravity Bar on the top floor has a 360 panorama view of Dublin, and it was so much fun to just sit up there looking at the city while drinking a pint. After that we meandered over to the Book of Kells in the library at Trinity College. That was an incredible experience of a different sort - to see the beautiful intricate art of one of the world's oldest books. It's incredible that a book from 800 AD could still be read and enjoyed today. We also managed to get over to St. Patrick's cathedral and have a look around the famous church. Now Dublin isn't for the cheap of heart, for the city definitely knows how to make the most of its tourist attractions. But it's hard to blame them - the country's trying to boost the economy any way they can and they have a lot of history to show off and be proud of. Temple Bar does have lots of good places to hang out, and it is still possible to get a pint of Guinness for under 5 - just avoid the bigger places. 

Overall, I will miss the beauty of Ireland's land, the warmth of the people, and the fun hearted spirit of the friends Ive made. Truly, I couldn't have asked for a better summer. It was great Craic! 

Stepping Out of and Back Into Ireland

It seems that Ive fallen a bit behind in blogging. It's been what, two weeks? but a lot has happened since Galway. Shannon, MaryBeth and I traveled from Galway up to Banbridge, Northern Ireland to spend a week with her family. I have to admit, I am completely jealous of the fact that she has extended family in a foreign country. Even though they've never met this 22 year old cousin of theirs, they welcomed her with open arms and treated her as if she'd been coming once a year all her life. And good thing too, because a combination of broken water filters at Finlough and late nights/scattered meals in Galway caught up to us and as soon as we stepped into their beautiful home all three of us collapsed into illness. Ann, Shannon's cousin (that's their relation I think, but she is a 50 some year old woman) was so kind and took care of us as if we were her own children. It was so nice and refreshing to be in a real home, with someone making all the meals, access to tv and electronics, and the ability to wake up when we wanted and for the most part do as we pleased. The sunny weather held up, and most of the time while Shannon was still sweating out her fever, I worked on my tan. Unfortunately, MaryBeth decided that she felt too ill to stay in Ireland, and left. So, by the end of the week, it was just Shannon and I, and quite fortunately, she was well enough to go to the "Glorious Twelfth" parade.

How do I describe the Glorious Twelfth? It's what I would imagine a mix of Fourth of July celebration with Southern Pride zealousness would look like. Except its not Southern Pride here but Northern. Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom, not a part of the Republic of Ireland, and the people who gathered in the town of Scarva (all some 100,000 of them) were proud to show it. The red white and blue for the Union Jack was everywhere, and part of the parade was shooting down a green flag and waving orange. Bands from all over the area and far away, even as far as Scotland, came to march and commemorate some ancient 1660 battle. But really, it was a Northern Ireland pride thing. It was really fun to see, but also so interesting to think that even though we were on the island of Ireland, and could hear Irish accents around us, it was not technically Ireland. Or at least, not the same Ireland that we had been in. Also, there is still a lot of animosity between Protestants and Catholics - Protestants being the Northern Ireland UK people, and Catholics the more traditional southern Irish. Every year, there are clashes in

Belfast for the Twelfth, but Scarva was perfectly safe. And things have gotten better, since the "Troubles" really ended around the new millennium, but after speaking with Shannon's cousins, it sounds like the two groups still have a long way to go.

It was a very fun time with her family; it was just another example of the greatness of Irish hospitality. I swear, I could not turn around if my glass was less than half full without another one appearing before me. And once they realized I liked Guinness - aka the Black Stout, aka Liffey Water - I was a goner. But who would have thought a one year old's birthday party could be so much fun?

After the North, we had to travel aaaaaaaall the way to the South. As in, we're ten minutes from Baltimore, the southernmost town in Ireland (if you don't count the islands). Once again, we lucked out completely and got seriously the nicest and most generous family in the world as our hosts. We have an apartment attached to the main house all to ourselves, and complete access to a kitchen stocked with food, a library stocked with books, and the biggest movie collection I have ever seen. It is amazing! We just work from around 9 in the morning until 1, helping in the gardens around the house and cleaning up the sheds and such.

Elaine is an incredibly busy woman, and no matter the weather takes her three dogs with her to go swimming in the nearby lake. We've had the opportunity to swim in this lake/lagoon, and while the water is very cold, it is absolutely beautiful. In our free time we've sort of lazed out and taken to watching movies/getting addicted to Game of Thrones, but at first we explored into the nearby woods and went swimming, went into the pubs in Baltimore, and climbed over hills searching for a rock pool. We just had a break and went to Sherkin Island, which was gorgeous and also gave us the chance to relax by a beach all to ourselves. West Cork is absolutely gorgeous, with its many islands and huge cliffs. Hopefully sometime this week well be able to visit some of the old Druid ruins in the area.

Man, it's hard to believe, but we only have one more week here and then it's so long Ireland! Probably should start working on my Chinese...

Never Seen Nothing Like A Galway Girl

Dont ask me why, but i knew that I couldnt come to Ireland and not see Galway (Id say blame an obscure song on the PS I Love You soundtrack). Believe me the place did not disappoint, especially considering the complete change of pace from our life in Strokestown. Galway is everything I hoped that it could be - there's people, shops, restaurants, and pubs crammed together leading down to the ocean. Street performers line the cobbled roads, and every building looks like its been here for at least 300 years (or more). If its nice out, as it was the entire time we were there, you could easily spend hours just on Shop Street (guess why they call it that) and see anything from a man dressed as the devil to a guy building a dog out of sand. Unlike Strokestown, there is a mix of all types and ages. Also there's a large university in the city which gives Galway a lot more diversity than the majority of Ireland.

The place is absolutely packed on the weekends, but if you happen to be stuck there during the week, have no fear! Its Ireland after all, and the Irish don't care if its a Monday night - the pub will still be open just as late as on the weekends, although with a slightly older crowd. Believe me, you have a lot of options and it might just be a bit overwhelming at first. If youre going to visit Ireland you simply HAVE to come to Galway, so here are just a few suggestions from me to you:

Great Irish breakfast: Griffins, it's been around since 1876 and if you don't get their full Irish breakfast you must be either mad or severely hungover.

Trad music: Tis Coili or Taaffes, both conveniently located across from each other with equally cozy atmospheres.

Dinner: If you're sick of pub food then relax by the river or sit next to a working mill at the Bridge Mills Riverside Restaurant.

Great bars: Just go outside! If you want to try a variety, then I can definitely recommend the Viking pub crawl - you might even get the experience of a drunk guide with a ridiculous name like Dom Dom taking you to a few.

Club: If clubbing is your  kind of thing, the pub crawl ended at Club Karma  which was a lot of fun but good luck finding the bathroom.

Accommodation:  Kinlay Hostel. Award winning, it feels more like a hotel than a hostel. Everything is cleaned each day, the staff are incredibly friendly and helpful, new macs for public use, free breakfast, fantastic location and youre bound to meet the coolest people (I mean come on, we stayed there).

The big tourist attraction in the area are of course the Cliffs of Moher, and trust me they are definitely worth seeing. We went with Galway Tours, who had a discount for Kinlay guests. For only 20 euros you get to spend all day in the

Burren looking at sweet castles and Druid relics, culminating in the Cliffs. Though I didn't do it, everyone who did said they really enjoyed the Connemara and Aran Island tours as well.

In short, Galway is great craic. However, it was full of temptations so I'm glad my wallet will get a break in our next destination - Banbridge, Northern Ireland!

Farewell Finlough

While everybody back home is busy celebrating the Fourth of July, we are beginning to prepare for our departure from Finlough. It's hard to believe that we've already been here for about a month, but at the same time I think that we are all ready to move on and leave the simple life for the big city (aka Galway). Life here has certainly given us all a glimpse into a rural Irish lifestyle. It's been so nice to live with no distractions, to live slowly and simply. There isn't all that much around us on a daily basis to really detract from the beauty of the meadows or the lake, or distract one from just being present in a moment. Life hasn't been without some minor inconveniences. The tap water is undrinkable, and the filter slow; a fair host of bugs share the house with us; no washer or dryer; and no nearby mode of transportation. However, don't think I'm complaining! - for the good far outweighs the bad. We've gotten to cozy up to warm fires in the fireplace pretty much every night, have a beautiful old house all to ourselves, befriend the local taxi driver, enjoy the pleasure of cooking and eating the plants that we ourselves harvested, and sleep soundly after a hard days' work. And while I know this next bit is going to sound corny to anyone who has lived in the country before (but come on! I'm from the suburbs), I'm proud to say that I now know my way around tools: spades, pitchforks, rakes, strimmers, mowers, shearers and even scythes! A lot of the work has been pretty labor intensive, involving a lot of digging and weeding and trimming and even cutting turf! If I don't have some serious guns by now, then I'm a hopeless case. I've learned so much about vegetable care, knowledge that I know I will use the day I am able to start my own garden. Living on a farm has overall been such a good experience, and really given me a new appreciation for all of the work that goes into producing some of the food that we eat everyday (conclusion: carrots are needy little jerks).

When I think of our time here as a whole though, both on the farm and the days off of it, the thing that stands out the most is just the wonderful kindness of the people around us. As we've been digging in the tunnels we've ended up listening to a lot of Irish radio, and just like when you're watching a tv station for so long you essentially have the commercials memorized, well the same goes for radio. And there is an "advert" that really stands out in my mind when I reflect on the time here: it's for some initiative called "give one percent" that encourages people to give to some charity despite the country's economic troubles. There's a line in it that claims "we're one of the most generous countries in history," and after spending three weeks in small town rural Ireland, I can definitely believe that. Everyone we have met here has dumbfounded us with their openhearted kindness and generosity. Complete strangers want to go out of their way to help us, three out of place Americans, feel welcomed. Whether it's someone offering to show us the town, a neighbor taking us to their kids' (gaelic) football game, a delivery man refusing to tip us after going out of his way to find our place in the middle of nowhere, or the taxi driver acting as our tour guide by taking us out of his way to show us a nearby town's attraction (and of course pausing so that we might take pictures of such a historic windmill), everyone we come across just seems to be one of the nicest we've ever met.

Getting ready to dig!

Granted, there has been a fairly small sample size, as the cow to people ratio around here appears to be at least 50:1. It might just be a County Roscommon thing, since people are so happy to see another human around here that they do whatever they can to be friends. But I don't think so. We're leaving for Galway on Saturday, and I expect that as we travel around to different parts of the country, we're bound to encounter some more of that wonderful Irish generosity.

Farewell Finlough, Hello Galway!

Finlough Farm

Our lovely home for the next month!

We arrived safe and sound at Finlough Farm! It's taken me a little while to write this post, for even though life here hasn't consisted of much beyond work and downtime, usually I'm too tired after work to manage for longer than an hour after dinner before I need to pass out. Farming life is hard! Or at least, it is when your body is a super soft lump of dough and unused to moving much. 

PJ, the incredibly nice "next door neighbor" was lovely enough to pick us up from the bus station. When he dropped us off on the farm, there was one other girl, Savannah from California, here. She was on her way out for a three day trip to Galway, but was able to show us around the house a little bit. The first two days we were pretty much on our own, finding stuff to do around the house and doing basic watering and weeding down at the tunnels, until Danny - the groundskeeper who rents a house on the property - arrived. He's the one mainly in charge since Finn is away 98% of the time. So far, our tasks have mostly involved building a carrot bed (which turns out to be super annoying because carrots are jerks and need fine, clump free soil) and scything/cutting down weeds around the property. Work begins at 9:30 am, we go until lunchtime at 1, and then return after an hour to work until around 5:30. Like I've said, usually we come back and have just enough energy and time to make food, eat and clean up before collapsing before the sun even goes down. In our defense, the sun doesn't go down until 11 pm here, so we aren't quite as pathetic as you might think!

Our neighbors.

It's been really nice, but odd being alone in this house and for the most part on our own. We don't mind, and are all capable of working independently, but it is still a different kind of lifestyle that takes a little getting used to. The town is a good bit away, probably around 4 miles or whatever translates into a 30 minute bike ride. The first attempt to go into Strokestown was a failure with only 1.5 of the 3 bikes actually working. We gave up and were able to beg a ride from the kindly PJ to get into town for some food, since the house was stocked with really only enough provisions for one person to eat comfortably. Don't worry, Finn has since arrived with more groceries, and promised us that we could always send Danny for more (which we definitely will: working people = hungry people). Savannah has since returned and we were able to go into the town on Saturday night for my first pint of Irish Guinness. We took a taxi though, not the bikes. It was only 10 euro, which I don't think is too bad of a price. Upon PJ's recommendation, we headed to Hanly's, and while it was staffed by a very nice man who gave us a free round on the house, it did not turn out to be the young people hotspot that he had promised. Unless by "young" he meant 50-60 year olds. However, we've since learned that what few young people there are in Strokestown usually take the short ride over to Carrick-on-Shannon for some nightlife. We'll probably explore that this coming weekend.

Shannon modeling it after we fixed the yard.

For now though, I must say that the land around here is beautiful, and it is enough to just spend the days off/free time exploring the area. So far we've been blessed with great weather - only one day of heavy showers, and the rest of the time it has been pretty sunny and warm. The house is coming together and beginning to feel more like people actually live here (which didn't quite seem to be the case at first). Meal time is very nice; we've been cooking together and there have been no problems between us. Today, Savannah and I rode into Strokestown and literally had a pleasant, long conversation with every shopkeeper whose place we happened to wander in to. People here are so nice, but generally a little confused to see someone "on holiday" in these parts. Probably won't be long before we've met everyone in town. I can't say that I mind though that my first experience of Ireland is the small town, rural life, and I can't wait to settle in even more here.

Turning the Page

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." - St. Augustine

Today is my last full day at home, and really my last full day in America for about the next year. While that fact began to settle in last night, I was alternately gripped with feelings of choking apprehension and joyful excitement. For the next few months of my life, I will be in new places with new people without a real clue of what I am getting myself into, and I cannot wait! It will be hard to be away from family for so long. Holidays will probably be real bummers, and if only we had all the money and time in the world for multiple visits it would be perfect! However hard it may be at times, I absolutely refuse to become a person who always wishes they had traveled, but had let the various minute details of life get in the way. By the grace of God and with the support of family and friends, it seems that I won't be. I cannot thank the people in my life who have helped me along and encouraged me as I planned for this journey enough. You'll all be in my heart during the time in Ireland and China. This blog, as requested, is for you guys so that you can keep up to date on my travels, as well as, I admit, for myself to help me remember moments along the way.

Next time I post will most likely come once I'm set up in the farming life with my friends Shannon and MaryBeth in Ireland. Until then, take care!