Home stretch

I will be home in nine days. Single digits! When I booked my home leave flight, it seemed oh-so-far away. But now it's close enough I can nearly taste it! I'm actually quite entertained by the way I've been feeling lately. I'm not sure if it's because I know I'm headed home (though only temporarily) and so I'm being more appreciative, or if it's because everything is just actually going better. Regardless, I have had a great couple of weeks here. The weather has been unfortunate - very humid, quite hot, a lot of rain. Walking to work in the morning isn't the most pleasant experience. But other than that, I really can't complain. And that feels great!

So in my excitement about coming home for a bit, I've prepared my top 10 list of things I'm looking forward to:
   1. Seeing my family, friends, boyfriend and co-workers. It will be a crammed couple of weeks in Ohio trying to fit it all in, but I am looking forward to it and to seeing so many people!
   2. Chipotle. Is that sad? I have had Mexican here, but it still doesn't quite compare. I told Sean he needs to have a burrito in hand when I land in Columbus. He seems to think that's a joke. But this is absolutely not a laughing matter.
   3. Friendliness. I love Ohio. People are genuinely nice. I miss the random "hello", "how are you doing?", "have a good one" comments. A lot. I hope I don't come back a bit more hardened.
   4. Personal space. Yep, definitely a premium here.
   5. Red, White and Boom. I'm very jazzed about being home for the festivities and toasting to America.
   6. My bed. So beds in China are interesting. They are pretty hard. It took me a few nights to adjust when I first got here, but now it doesn't bother me as much. But the thought of being in my own bed is amazing.
   7. Television. I'm not even that big of a TV person, but I'm tapped out of watching CNN, BBC, Discovery and National Geographic. Can I getta little HGTV, TLC or some awful VH1 reality shows in my life please?
   8. Being in German Village. I really do love my 'hood. It's so quaint and I love being able to walk to restaurants and Schiller Park. It's probably also the feeling of "home" that I get once I see Livingston and Third. It will be great to be back in the thick of it.
   9. My iPhone. Ok, I do use it a bit here when I can get wireless, but largely it sits turned off in my apartment. And my junkie Nokia that's all in Chinese just isn't cutting it.
   10. Breathing fresh air. If anyone is following the news story about the US Embassy here, enough said ...

I thought about adding Graeter's to the list and decided that made me sound like a "fat kid" since I already had Chipotle on there. But if you are curious what #11 would be ... Any takers on some Raspberry Chip?

So things are going well here. We have a few big meetings coming up at work that I'm looking forward to, including meeting with a major pharmacy customer next week. The whole day will be in Chinese, so that will be interesting! Hopefully I can pick up a few words from my ongoing tutoring. We're presenting in English, then it will be translated into Chinese for the group. That will also be quite an experience!

I'm just finishing up another great weekend in Shanghai. I went to a great place to eat last night called Lost Heaven. They served Yunnan food - delicious (henchi - using my newly-learned Chinese word!). There was a great rooftop patio that we enjoyed afterwards too. I've been finding a lot of really tasty Chinese food lately. I think the key was to avoid all servings of animals-with-heads-on and to ask for recommendations from other expats on where to try.

I'm sad to be missing another round of great things going on in the US - Happy Birthday to my Aunt Suzi, Aunt Jayne, cousin Grace and to Sean! Today is also Father's Day - I wish I was there to give you a hug, Dad! I am blessed to have a truly amazing Dad. He is probably the most level-headed and wise person I know, which is always appreciated when you need to go somewhere for good advice. Speaking of good advice, my Dad has left a lasting impression on me with a few of his sayings for me. One of my favorites, which used to include me rolling my eyes, is "Jessica, be street smart". I don't know if by street he had Beijing Xi Lu in mind, but I'm certainly putting his wisdom to good use here in all that I do. To my OSU football game partner, Westerville walking buddy and the person who unfortunately gave me a total obsession with chocolate and coconut, Happy Father's Day!

The countdown is officially on until I'm back in the USofA!