30 days hath September

Hard to believe. Shocking really. I am in my last month of living in China.

It's a very bittersweet time for me. I am definitely looking forward to coming home and getting back to my "real" life (whatever that means ... I am living real life now, but for some reason time seems a bit suspended here). But at the same time, I am starting to get sad about all that I'll miss in China. I've made some good friends here, I've had fun exploring the city and I've also become quite used to big city life. Yes, grocery shopping is still a pain and yes, I'm annoyed by ridiculous traffic and gobs of people everywhere at all times. But it's reality for me right now, and I've come to appreciate the flipside of big city life - excitement, walkability, new experiences, new people. So with my departure from Asia only a few weeks out now, I've decided to make my list of all that I have to do and see before going home!

Though it's been strange missing the first few Buckeyes games at home, I've embraced a different style of game watching in Shanghai - midnight-style! Before the first game, I got the awesome surprise of an invite to a Big Ten Happy Hour for all the Big Ten schools' alumni groups in Shanghai. It was so fun! There was a decent Ohio State showing, but I think Wisconsin gets the prize. We were greeted with a Wisconsin flag hanging out front, Wisconsin gear all over the bar and every Wisconsin grad wore a logo sticker. Impressive. It was a great idea, and I had a great time. Here is a group of us enjoying the night:

The last two weekends I watched the Bucks live (yes, live!) from locales in Shanghai. Watching kickoff at midnight redefines "night game" for me. I'm not a night owl, so both weekends have required late afternoon naps to ensure I'd make it until 3:30 in the morning!

I'm not going to lie - the quality isn't great. In both cases, we had no sound. In both cases, two or fewer TVs were showing the game. In both cases, ten or less people cared about Ohio State. But it's an experience!

On another football note, I am again participating in my all-girls Fantasy Football league! We're appropriately called the Pigskin Princesses. My friends were nice enough to allow me to Skype in to do the draft live with them. Gotta love technology. Here's a picture my friend Brittany snapped of me Skyping in:

One week in and I'm 1-0!

This weekend also brought one of my co-workers from Ohio into Shanghai. She was here vacationing with her husband and friends. We went to a great happy hour as a group, then we headed to dinner at a place I love. Great way to spend a Friday night.

Work is going ok too. It's tough to "wrap-up" a project when really the project is just getting started. It's only me who is wrapping up ... the work will continue. I've learned so much about healthcare and about pharmacy in China, and I'm just getting to the point where I can provide some really valuable recommendations. That's the struggle with a six-month assignment - like starting any new job, it takes a bit to get adjusted. But here, I had to learn a new market, new regulatory environment, new shopper mentality, new team dynamic, new way of producing work and more all at the same time. It's been an incredibly challenging six months for me professionally, but the journey has been full of learnings and takeaways that I'm sure I'll call upon for many years to come.

Another awesome thing at work? A new Starbucks in our lobby! Clearly the Starbucks in the next building over - literally - was too far away, so now I have the convenience of grabbing my latte a few floors down. The grand opening sign said, "Welcome to Starbucks. Enjoy the journey!":

I love the fall. And I especially love Ohio in the fall. I also especially love all the events in my family in the fall. Happy Birthday to my cousin Natalie and my Uncle Jim, and Happy Anniversary to my parents! Next month brings my mom's birthday and mine too - it will be great to be home to celebrate.

But only after I make the most of these 30 days of September ...