Aftermath...

I've been home for almost 3 weeks now, and I'm not sure what to think of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad that I'm not in China anymore. I mean, it was a really great experience and I miss my students and co-workers, but China is not the place for me, and I'm ready to find somewhere I do belong. It's frustrating to be unemployed and the lack of income is rough. I'm so grateful to my parents for letting me come home and stay with them while I continue to attempt to figure out my life. I have some legit plans for my life and I'm doing what I can to get those rolling, including becoming certified as a personal trainer. My materials will be here soon, and in the next 3 months I'll be dedicating myself to passing the test which hopefully will lead to a job. After that happens, I should be ready to take the GRE and start looking into grad programs. Everything is a process though, and what it all leads to is me finding work in a field I'm interested in. The only thing more frustrating than not having a job is when people ask what I expect to do after I go to grad school. If I could tell the future, I'd be more than happy to share, but right now I'm just attempting to create opportunities for myself that will allow me to have a somewhat enjoyable future. That's all I got right now, sorry.

Besides that, I got my tattoo of my Chinese name, and I love it so much. It's in my right side, on the ribcage, and yes, it hurt. It was worse than my first one, but totally worth it. If I can survive living in China without reliable hot water and no central heating, I can undergo about 25 minutes of pain for something I wish to take with me for the rest of my life. I am happy to have hot showers everyday, and also ESPN. I watch SportsCenter every morning, and drink real coffee. It's amazing. I've been applying to jobs all over the place, and I will continue to do that until something works out for me. I feel like I'm not doing anything, but considering I haven't even been home for 3 full weeks, I think I'm okay. Or at least I will be, and that all I can ask for.