Countdown

Tomorrow is the day! (Or, Tomorrow is the day. Entirely unsure of which punctuation is most appropriate.) 

Everything is packed. I have been poked, prodded, examined, safeguarded, insured, and advised. I have a book for the plane (thanks Judy!). I have packed well for most seasons. Cold weather clothes will have to come later, but hey, it doesn't get all that cold in Shenzhen anyways. 

I have a visa!

This is Eli. He's coming to Shenzhen as well.

After all the troubles with it, actually acquiring the damn thing was the easiest part of leaving.

My mom threw a lovely going away party for me. It involved tapas (more accurately, pintxos) and LOTS of sangria. 

 Then we sat around the fire pit and talked.

 I have been going for as many runs on the beach as I can. Running from stress is good for me, and it will be a long time before I get to hang out at Torrey Pines. There seem to be lots of runs for charity around Shenzhen and Hong Kong. I think I want to run at least a 10k in the next few months. Maybe I'll train for a half marathon by the end of the year?


Packing for this journey was like packing for college, but five bajillion times harder. I like to brag that I could fit all my worldly possessions into my Beetle, but that is nothing compared to a suitcase, carry on, and a backpack.

Before the cull.

And after.

I think I made the weight limit. I think. 

My emotional state is...more stable than it was when I moved to college! But still not entirely stable. On the one hand, I want to snap out of it because, as one highly sympathetic friend put it, "you're going away for a while, not DYING!" He is right, but on the other hand moving to the other side of the world is still scary. And so my moods swing between excitement and abject terror. I'm managing to keep myself in a forced middle at the moment. Breathing, calm and happy thoughts, blah blah blah. 

By this time tomorrow, I will be in another country. How wild is that??? This experience is going to change my life in ways I can't even comprehend, much less anticipate. The challenge excites the stubborn and obstinate part of me. You know the one. The one where I become more determined the more I hear "no." It's like this entire country is daring me to give up and little me is staring back defiantly with little more than sheer determination and a Mandarin phrasebook. I am going to have a blast.

I love you all. Write lots.