Wo Hen Gaoshing (I am very Happy)

I am feeling very reflective tonight - and not the shining in the dark kind of reflective.  I am sitting in my still boiling hot apartment (yep, no A/C yet), in the tail end of a Typhoon (not as bad as it sounds...just LOTS of rain), far away from most of my friends and family.  I should be miserable.  At another time in my life I would definitely be depressed & homesick.

But I am not.

I am happy.  Very happy.  I just finished my first Mandarin class and I am energized and excited and in love with this amazing adventure.  I felt like I was in kindergarden again, learning the sounds of the different letters (I have to admit most of my early pronunciation sounds like a hybrid between french, polish and spanish).  And it was fun to be unselfconsciously bad at something.

I think moving to Arkansas showed me all the great things that come when you get unstuck, vulnerable and try something crazy and new.  People that knew me thought I was crazy when I moved to Arkansas.  On the surface it met none of the criteria of a place I would want to live.

• It was in the US (sorry my American friends)
• It was very far away from most of my family and not even close to the family I have in the US
• It was not in a big city nor was it close to any big cities
• It was not particularly cosmopolitan
• I really only knew two people there

But it worked for me.  I loved being in a small town.  I loved experiencing Tailgating and a real SEC college football town (WOO PIG SOOIE).  I loved seeing the stars at night and hot summer nights in February.  I loved access to cultural events at ridiculously low prices, and drive thru everything (banking, dry cleaning, liquor, post office, library)...and I loved the friends I met.  For the first time in a very long time I put myself out there and meet new people.  And wow, the people I met were amazing.  I had so much fun experiencing all the "Only in Arkansas" things with them.  It was like going to camp - but as a grown-up.  You had to be there to get it...and nothing will ever be the same.

And now, because of that experience I know this one will be amazing, fun and funny.  I will continue being an explorer of this world and meet new people.  And I will continue being happy.