The Future...

The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN

I have loved my time in China. I love living abroad. I love the bus. I love my students. I love the food. I love being a novelty.

But the best thing about China, for me, has been the opportunity to learn more about myself. As long as I can remember, I have been very concerned about the opinions of those around me. What does my mom think? What does my teacher think? What do my friends think? What do strangers on the street think? And here, I'm 5,000 miles away from those I relied on. Now, I have to ask myself: What do *I* think?

I feel blessed to have many talents. I enjoy learning. This give me many options, which, for me, is more a curse, than a blessing.

I'm like the Runaway Bride: one direction (say, Linguistics) looks so good to me! I commit to it, I apply to school, I get accepted. But then it becomes almost too real. And I panic. All I can think about is how making that one choice means that there are another hundred opportunities I'll miss in my life...

So after some deep soul-searching, I decided not to head to South Carolina for grad school. I now know what matters to me: -helping people, -serious intellectual pursuits, -using my gifts and talents in the best way possible... And I'm considering Law School. But I'm taking it slowly. I'm going to move back in with my parents, in Rochester, NY, and look for a job as a paralegal.

I reserve the right to change my mind again. I'm only 23! I don't feel the need to have my life completely planned out. But I do want to be going somewhere.

So keep me in your thoughts. I'm certain that the future will be what it should be. And, for the first time in a while, I'm content to not see the whole picture! :)

Quarter-Life Crisis

So I don't know if "quarter-life crisis" is a recognized phenomenon, but if it is, I definitely am experiencing it. I turned 23 two days ago and am really struggling. I guess I never thought I'd be teaching English in China right now. Don't get me wrong, I love it! But I do feel that my life is in a bit of a holding pattern. I'm not exactly moving forward.

My next big goal is to get a PhD in linguistics. And living and teaching in China is definitely helpful for that. I'm learning Chinese and all... But a lot of me is afraid that I won't get into a program when I want to. If I want to go to school next year than I need to apply now. Do I want to go to school next year? Or do I want to wait another year? If I want to go in two years I need to apply next year. But what if I don't get in on the first try? Then I should apply now so that I can have another shot in two years... It's confusing, isn't it? This is what my mind has been like for the past couple of days. It's a little disorienting.

Life is nice when you have a plan. But life also makes it hard to plan. I can take all the "right steps" and still not get what I'm aiming for. The inherent unpredictability is hard to deal with, you know?

Anyway, China is good, teaching is good, but my inner dialogue is going a little crazy.

Oh, and I'm dog-sitting Joni's [crazy] dog SonSun tonight. She's stuck in Guiyang and I now have the little creature running around my apartment.

So, yeah... That's my life right now. :)

I'm off to graduate

Well, things are still pretty quiet on the China front. The only "news" of sorts I have is that I'm headed back to Taylor this weekend to graduate. Technically, I graduated on Dec. 15, 2005, but Taylor only has one graduation ceremony a year. So I'm going to it. I'm excited to see all of my friends again. It will be a whirlwind trip: arrive Friday morning, leave Saturday afternoon. But hopefully it won't feel too rushed.
When I get back I think that I can pick up the pace on the China thing. For some reason I think that I will feel more "graduated", even though I already am...
Hopefully I'll be writing more soon!

Elizabeth

Introductions

I think that the first thing to do would be to introduce myself.

My name is Elizabeth and I am getting ready to travel to Anshun, China for a year. I will leave in mid-August.

I just graduated from Taylor University in December. It took me a few months to find a job. But in one crazy week I got a job as a teacher's assistant and I met the China representatives. My current job is perfect for me: it ends in the summer and then I can go to China and not feel like I'm letting anyone down by quitting. And I get to work in a school, which I love. And I'm really excited to go to China. I'm so happy to be learning a new language and experiencing a new culture. This is such a great fit for me!

This is the list of things I need to do still:
[ ] Get my blood drawn for an HIV test to get into the country
[ ] Get my diploma from Taylor (even though I graduated they won't give me my diploma until I walk in the ceremony in May)
[ ] Sort through my house and pack boxes so that I don't leave my parents with piles of junk
[ ] Raise money (about $5000 I think)
[ ] Learn Chinese

I'm sure that my list will grow, but that's all I can think of right now.

Until next time,
Elizabeth