back in the blogosphere, up where the air is clear c'mon lets go fly a kite

Well, the last of my graduating seniors just turned in his final thesis draft and materials to me, and shutting the door behind him was actually pretty bitter sweet. The last few weeks have been really intense, with all the editing of their papers (and making many lectures on plagiarism) on top of my regular classes, but after seeing one or more of them almost daily for the last two weeks, and this after months of intermittent meetings, I can't believe they're finally finished and about to graduate. All they have left is to survive their oral thesis defense next week and they will be home free to graduate.

I'm pretty close to home free on this semester too – June 22nd is my last day of classes, this Friday is the last English Corner of the semester. Of course, finishing up this first year is also pretty bitter sweet (though admittedly more sweet than bitter). While I'm looking forward to summer holiday, summer project, my family coming to visit, and meeting my new site mate next September, we're all bracing ourselves to say goodbye to the 11s who will be leaving in waves throughout July. Seeing them preparing to leave and go back to their lives from the “before” time is really making me think. Sure it was hard to say goodbye to friends and family for over two years when I left last June, and my life here has large holes in it without those people present and without pizza and cheeseburgers and deli sandwiches; BUT, my life here is, in all other ways, very complete. I am living alone for the first time, and painted the walls by myself and own a fern and an ornery washing machine. I have neighbors and a milk lady and a water man and colleagues and a class of 6 year olds and lots of students with whom I spend a great deal of time, and a very satisfying job and love and a family of other volunteers here. Also a bowling alley and as many incredible travel destinations as I can squeeze out of my holidays. For all that, when I leave here in July 2008, it is easily possible that I will never come back to Lanzhou, never see most of my students or colleagues again. That kind of abrupt cutting off is going to be very hard I think. Luckily I have another year of life to enjoy in Lanzhou before it's time to say goodbye – and then 5 months of travel to dull the edge of leaving before I make my way home.

I know I am a solid two months behind on the blog (haha thanks for all the reminders, mom), so the next entry will be dedicated to the travel we did during the first month of May over the Labor Holiday, and the one after that will be highlights and happenings of the last two months, and then a final few tid-bits from the accidentally hilarious writings of my students. I'm apologizing in advance for the novel-length of these entries... take your time! Love and miss you all.