waiting to go home

i apologize... i must be the most horrible blogger ever! i've felt uninspired the past few months, to keep this updated.... its not for lack of material, i just can't seem to get myself to focus and write.... i'm back in shenzhen WAITING to go home... i'm really excited about heading home. i feel like i've finally reached a point in my life where i want to stay put in one place for more than a year! this is a huge milestone for me.... i've traveled hard the last year and i think that's all i needed to wear myself out so that i'd finally "settle" down... now, i use the term "settle" very loosely, but i think going to grad school and sticking around in one place for a few years sounds nice.... i still think having a coach and a t.v. is a bit of a burden, but i can always just sit on the floor right?
anyway, as i get ready to leave i've been thinking of things i'm going to miss about being here.... and well, i couldn't think of any, so i'll just give a list of things i won't miss... ha! no, i will miss many things about being here, its just that right now, i'm so ready to get on a plane and go home that its hard to remember all of the good things... i'll name a few and then i'm sure after the "honeymoon" period of being home is over, i'll be able to think of many other blissful reasons for wanting to go back to china.
so i'll start with things i'll miss:
1. my students! i've become friends with a few girls, and they are so sweet i'm really going to miss talking with them.
2. the food! as much as i've missed western food while being here, the chinese food in shenzhen is amazing! and the indian and the middle eastern and so on.....
3. the little girl that works in the shop near my house. what can i say, she's adorable and sweet and doesn't give me the "foreigner" price like her dad does.
4.bargaining.... this will show up on both lists, its a love/ hate relationship, sometimes its satisfying, sometimes exhausting.
5.empty bus rides home.... i can actually relax and enjoy watching the city out the window.
6.my friends.... foreign and chinese
7.cheap beer (sorry mom), but seriously its less than 50 cents for a 32 oz beer!
8. TRAVELING!!! what can i say, i have an addiction and living here definitely indulges my habit
9.hairwashes,massages,pedicures,manicures, etc.... all for very cheap... in fact i've had both a hairwash and a full body massage this week already (birthday gifts)
10.the gaurds at my apartment and at the school..... they always say hello (in one language or another), when many teachers at my school won't even make eye contact.....

things i WON"T miss about living in shenzhen: to make this fair, i'll keep this list at 10 things as well
1. lugi hawking all the time, everywhere
2.vomitting people, all the time, everywhere
3.bargaining
4. paying "foreign" prices
5.people staring
6.people screaming "hello, hello" constantly
7.crowded buses
8.pick pockets
9.eardrum busting screeching brakes on cars, bikes, buses, wherever.... if someone has a way to start a major marketing campaign for WD-40, it is greatly needed in china
10. being away from my friends and family

so there it is, i could add more to both lists, but i'll leave it at that for now. i hope everyone is doing well and if anyone had friends or family in london, i hope they are all safe and sound.....

peace....................................