It's been 8 months since I've blogged! It started out as a break, just to get readjusted to life in Canada but it turned into a habit. I'd gotten so used to writing about my experience in China and had this feeling that there was nothing to write about that anyone would want to read. It took a reminder that writing is not just something you do for others, but something you do for yourself to get me going again.

So I won't be sharing any crazy stories of training in China but what I will do is share my thoughts on being here and teaching.

I got married. To my boyfriend of six years. We spent our whole China experience together and developed a bond that we hadn't realized until we were apart was something neither of us was willing to give up. He lives in Texas and is enrolled in graduate school so as much as I didn't want to go, I made the decision to move there. We're currently waiting for my immigration to be processed so I'll still be living here for at least another 5 months, maybe more. In the meantime I'm teaching the kids classes, Lil' leopards, Tiny tigers, and Black dragons.

I love teaching! The fact that I get to share my love of kung fu with these kids is so humbling and so exciting. It's just hard for me to express that verbally. That's why I've decided to start blogging again. I need to practice expressing these ideas more often so I can get better at it. Leading by example is great but sometimes you need words too. I'm aware that writing and speaking are completely different though so I'm also going to try talking about this stuff more and more. I need the practice. I may trip over words and fumble (in fact I know I will) but I hope to improve quickly.

I plan to open a school in Houston so these are things I'll need to figure out in order to be successful. This is a great time to watch others, learn from them, and practice.

Less than 2 weeks left!

We've been busy packing things up, giving stuff away, making arrangements to travel, and of course a little training too!

We sent our weapons yesterday which was the toughest task and now we're almost ready. Just one more box to pack and send a few days before we go. I've been having trouble sleeping this week. I just have so much to look forward to! I don't feel nervous about leaving here, I'm ready, but there's excitement and just a lot of busy thoughts. Some of my classmates have found it hard to stay motivated for training but for me, it's a welcome distraction and there's really not much else to do around here anyway. I still get a bit bored sometimes, it feels like I'm just waiting for September 1st, but I just train harder and try to keep busy in the free time.

It feels so good to be letting go of things (material and immaterial) that I'm actually really enjoying the process of preparation. I've realized that I'm a lot like my mom, she loves to organize, and purge once in a while. I finally get it mom!

I've been doing the Pimsleur Thai language audio course, in fact I'm almost half finished. It's 30 lessons total and I'm about to do lesson 15. It's really interesting, but very challenging. Thai is another tonal language, like mandarin, but with more tones and some sounds that are really quite foreign to me. I don't think I'll really be able to say much after I finish the course but I also wouldn't want to be learning any faster than I am, it's tough enough as it is. It is really fun learning a new language though, besides Chinese, I am so sick of Chinese. Sick of Chinese and sick of China! I'm sure after being home for a while I'll get over it, hopefully anyway. I haven't been studying my classical Chinese at all lately, I think I'll wait until I'm home and have fonder feelings about this place. It would also be nice to take an actual class, if there's one available, I've just been learning on my own all these years but I think learning some new methods would be really helpful at this point.

It's rained and cooled off quite a bit so we're all much happier and sleeping better. I have my fingers crossed that it'll stay cool at least for another few days.

Less than 4 weeks!

SO HOT!

It's hard to think of anything else to say. It's that hot where you don't want to eat and you wake up all sweaty in the middle of the night. I wouldn't mind training in the heat if I knew I had a comfortable place to shower and sleep. Once again, I am reminded how fortunate I am at home.

Well, I had a wonderful week off. Simon and I stayed in a fancy hotel on Hainan island in the south China sea and we really relaxed while we were there. Lots of swimming, eating, watching a few movies, and just spending time together before he moved home to Texas and I came back here for the last month and a half of training. We ended up staying an extra day due to a huge typhoon that cancelled all flights to and from the island for a day. It was nice to have an extra day but also insane to be in the middle of a crazy typhoon and then deal with re-booking flights and all that jazz. I still dream about the storm, I guess it made a really big impression on my unconscious mind.

So now I'm back here at the school just in time for the peak of summer heat, Mel's gone on her trip so I'm alone in the room, which is peaceful, but I'd enjoy it more if I wasn't sweating 24/7. It's actually hotter here than it was in Hainan and there's no refreshing ocean breezes. So it's not always hotter the closer you go to the equator. Who knew? Only another 6 weeks though so I just keep reminding myself of that. The fact that I know Simon is already at home starting his new life makes it harder to be here, I really want to go home too, but I do have Thailand to look forward to.

So that's the recap. Had a good trip....sweating up a storm in Wudang...counting down the weeks.

We booked our flights to Thailand yesterday. Mel and I are both very excited. I can't believe it's only 2 months away. Those two months will fly by too. Next week I'm taking a week off and then, when I get back, Mel will leave a few days later for her vacation. By the time she gets back it'll be August and we're going to have lots to do to get ready to leave. So basically, we're almost done.

I am enjoying training though, in spite of the summer heat, and we've got even more freedom now. It's great because everyone can focus on what they choose for this last little while. Many of us have got little projects we're working on in class and outside of it which is good because we all really want to get out of here! Having something else to think about is important. So far this year I've definitely made a lot of progress on my goals to be healthier and happier, I'm learning more about myself and what I need to do to reach a great physical and mental state. These lessons we learn about ourselves while we're here are what's really important. More important than speed or strength.

We found out this week that swords can no longer be shipped in the mail from China so now our whole class is getting ready to leave, packing up and sending things home and it really throws a wrench in things. Mel and I really wanted to avoid having to take our practice weapons to Thailand with us but we may have to in the end. It's not a huge deal but it is pretty frustrating, just another thing to dislike about living here. I had a little rant when I found out but I was really only annoyed for about 15 minutes, which I thought was pretty alright. My mental/emotional state seems to have improved so much in the last couple years, all that meditating and tai ji must be paying off! I think I'll really notice the changes when I get back home and start living a relatively normal life again. I hope I can find a way to continue to improve. Scratch that, I know I can find a way, because it's important to me. Then, later, I can help others to do the same.