vacation time

today is sept 30, which totally trips me out to even think that tomorrow is oct 1.  where the heck has the time gone?? i moved here in june..ahh!  so ya....its been 3 months now that i have been living in shanghai.  sometimes it feels as if i have been here forever, and other times i feel like i just got here.  but, i am for sure stoked to be here and grateful i have a job that pays well.  do i love teaching 2-6 yr olds.....um yes and no!  they are pretty cute and well behaved, most of the time.  but, i really do miss my high school kids.  for now..it will do and it is just stepping stone job to get me into other things.  moving to china has made me love being on my own even more.  i like the idea of making new friends, a new city to explore, living in my own apartment with no roomies.  it is a refreshing new start to year 30 of my life.  i am forever grateful for the friends i have made here so far and the experiences i have had!

tomorrow i am headed to northern vietnam with my friends ben and tara.  tara teaches with me, just at a different school and ben works at a pottery studio.  we are going to have a blast.  i havent had a break from working for 3 months.  my job owns my soul...ahhhh.  teachers are suppose to have tons of time off.  well, we have 6 days off for a festival week....so we are out of here.  we are flying into hanoi....few days running around like tourists..and then we are headed to live on a boat for 3 days in halong bay.  i cant even wait to sit on a boat, sleep on a boat, drink on a boat, jump off a boat....u get the point!  this vacation is going to be amazing.  there are no direct flights to hanoi...well at least any that were available.  this is peak travel time right now since all of china is on holiday.  we are pretty much traveling like peak season at christmas time at home.  we have a 7 hr layover in ghangzhou....yes thats right..7 hrs.  tara is bringing uno cards.  i am sure some sort of photo shoot, where's waldo, or some other crazy game will be happening in the airport.  it is pretty exciting to just jump over to vietnam for a vacation.  it is going to be odd to be hearing another asian language.  i have gotten so used to tuning out chinese..oops.

life is good here in shanghai.  it has finally cooled down.  i have actually worn pants and even a sweatshirt...yes people.....a sweatshirt.  there have still been some warm days...but overall fall might just be here.  i am welcoming the change in weather...but along with that came a nasty cold...which i am still fighting off.

my parents sold my car a few weeks ago.  i was a lil sad since it was the first car i ever bought on my own....but things are things..i can buy a new one later.  plus, i really dont know when i am going to be coming back.  as of now i have no desire to come back to the states to live right now.  i can live so well in shanghai on not a lot of money....and still do whatever i want.  cali is sooooo expensive.  it is refreshing to know that i really dont have any material possessions anymore.  its just me, my computer and my clothes.  my whole life was basically sold last oct in a garage sale.  my car was the last major thing for me to part with.  i only came out to shanghai with summer clothes, since i didnt know if i would stay or not.  but......my parents were nice enough to ship me a box of some clothes.

thanks for listening to my rambling.  i am now off to pack and get into vacation mode. stay tuned for pics of vietnam.  maybe i will find some viet cong to chill out with.  hahahaha.

i am heading from one crowded city to the next...yet i hear the scooters are insane in hanoi.  here is a pic.

this is a junk boat...similar to what i will be staying on for 3 days in halong bay. yes please!!!!

we are spending one night on cat ba island.  i cant wait to sit in the water all day long.  gonna be heaven!