It's been a while.

The title really says it all. I've been in a writing rut. I realized, actually, that I rarely write when I'm living with Dan, not much on paper and never online. I think the problem is that he listens to me too much. I'm not complaining, I swear, but he is ruining the possibility of a writing career for me! When I can talk to him, I just don't really need pen and paper.

That said, my lack of dedication is also to blame and I apologize to all of you who might have been thinking I died on my way to Mt. Everest. I didn't, obviously, and I do plan on posting back blogs at some point in the near future. That will probably happen around the same time I figure out how to post pictures...

Recently, I've been super busy. There hasn't been a lot to do with school, in part because I realized that what I had been doing before was not only simpler, but more effective. In addition to that, after the February break, I came back to find I had a smaller course load. So, life is easy in that sense, but I've been finding other ways to fill up my time.

For Labor Day, which lasts seven days in China (I love this place), we spent most of our time climbing at a rock wall we found. It's about 18 meters high and has about 10 different faces, each with various routes. In all honesty, I actually can't remember if we did anything but climb that week. I'm addicted. Today I almost made my hands bleed because I was trying to climb routes without points. It's hard, but I love it. Here is where my mom is probably thinking, "Not only does she go almost as far away from home as possible, but she is actively trying to kill herself!" I love my mom!

Lately, I've been stressing out quite a bit because of my job search for next year. I am really close to having it all figured out, but I've just got a few days left to go. It's between working for a Montessori school or an international high school, neither of which would be bad, but I want to work for the international high school. I'm nervous that it's not going to work out, though. They're supposed to make me a formal offer soon (said the principal), but I don't want to count my chickens just yet. Instead, I've tried to occupy myself as much as possible, so that I don't have to think about it until the time comes (tomorrow or the next day).

In other news, my Chinese is improving! I can understand a lot of simple conversation (though sometimes with some serious delay) and read about 30 characters (which isn't much, but it's an accomplishment for me). I would be doing better if I studied some, but I am happy with what I can do so far.

I was trying to think if there was anything about China that I should write in my blog, and there probably is, but I can't think of it right now. Maybe I'm just getting so used to being here that everything seems normal. HA! Right.

There are actually plenty of stories, about Shanghai and Chinese realestate agencies, but they will come in back blogs. I promise it won't take me another three months to blog this time, so check back soon!