Good ol' America

I'm sitting at my gate in the Tokyo airport as I write this post. I am on the way back to Shanghai after spending a great week in the US. The trip's purpose was to get sworn in (look who's a real lawyer now woot woot), but I talked my way into taking a whole week off to make the long trip worthwhile. Overall, the week was amazing. I met up with everyone important to me, and ate and did everything I planned to do. Although I did have to work a little on two days, it was a much needed getaway from the fast-paced life in Shanghai.

Nostalgia is kicking in as I leave America. Having to shift between America and China is not easy for me because I love them both so much. I consider both places home (even though I'm technically not American) and it's always difficult to choose. This trip back, as I drove my old car around town, meeting up with friends, many of whom came all the way to Atlanta for the weekend, it felt as if nothing has changed. And that feels so nice. Living in America is so comfortable. Only being away will make you appreciate things like fast, uncensored internet, real freaking donuts, people who follow traffic rules, not being scammed, etc. Oh, the luxuries of living in the first world...

What I miss the most about the States are my people. Since moving to Shanghai, I have made about 2 friends. Being so busy with work, I haven't really felt lonely. I've actually valued spending weekends alone to recharge for the week ahead. However, being back to America and catching up with everyone was so nice, and it will make me miss having friends when I get back to Shanghai. I miss talking about stupid things. I miss hanging out and laughing a lot. I miss going out. So friends, I will make a bigger effort to stay in touch with you. Let's email, facetime, skype, whatever. If I don't respond on Gchat, it's probably because Gchat failed in China, I'm not ignoring you. If you're interested, get an app called LINE, which I use to keep in touch with some people. We can send each other cute stickers :)

Okay friends, it is time to board again and get back to the craziness of Shanghai. Bye for now!