Lovable little lappy is still not working properly. One issue after another seems to bombard my laptop. Anything remotely related to technology can be a challenge to work with here. If the laptop is working- Google is being blocked by certain unknown forces here in the mainland. Phil and I, as well as other expatriates living in this country, lovingly refer to this phenomenon as the "Great FireWall". I cannot, however, blame said phenomenon for the woes of my laptop. That- I will blame Toshiba for...
The last few weeks have been fairly uneventful. I feel like I went on action overload and hit a wall. Just as I found time to take a breath and relax- I caught a cold. I have to say that a cold in 80 degree weather is a very strange thing. When you are sick in the midst of such nice weather- you become more acutely aware of the fact that your body is not working as it should. There are no good excuses this time of year. There are no sub zero temperatures to blame your cold on; no damp rain turned snow...nothing. It's just you and the lovely 80 degree summer. As I lay on the couch day after day, I swore to myself that I would make a new commitment toward health and wellness. We'll see how long it lasts.
Aside from my two week party on the couch- Phil and I are preparing to return to the US for a period of time. We have a family wedding to celebrate, and Phil has some job training in Tennessee. I have to say that we are both really looking forward to the trip back. Due to the unique and insanely stressful trip we had back in February- it's all a blur to me. I am looking forward to visiting my home country, friends, and family- with more mental clarity and presence of mind this time.
Shanghai is still a great place to live. I have not lost sight of this fact. Remarkably- I have maintained a sense of awe and awareness in how fortunate we are to have this experience. I am however, ready to take a break and come home for a while. Ready to breathe in the air, drink form the tap water... and maybe even eat an apple I didn't wash!
