There Are A Lot Of Things To Do When You Move To Another Country

Hello lovely friends!!

Well it's 3 weeks until I leave Lexington on my grand adventure! (I hadn't actually calculated that until just now- THAT'S SOON- only moderate terror!)

Now this is going to shock you all: There's a ton of stuff that you have to do when you move to another country. Like bank stuff and cell phone stuff and going to all of your various doctors. Not to mention that you have to get rid of all our earthly possessions so that all your stuff fits into two suitcases. Add that to trying to see everyone you know before you leave, and pre-training assignments. All in all, it's been a bit hectic over here in the 859.

Hectic is a fun word- but the reality is not always quite as fun as that word makes it seem. The stress level is PRETTY HIGH at times! My poor dear parents have to deal with my snappiness. The lists of "To Dos" are pretty long, but I'm slowly chiseling away at it. -Speaking of chiseling- think of how overwhelmed the sculptor of Mt. Rushmore, or the Trevi Fountain, or those huge Buddha statues felt- there's no way I'm that stressed- use that to get you through all of your stressful moments (getting me through the day).

But in reality- it's not all that bad. I may be a tiny bit overdramatic. It's super satisfying to finish a paper or get rid of 85% of my belongings. I'm still incredibly excited to get this started, and every little step toward it is really lovely.

If anyone has any suggestions or tips on how to make transition, please let me know. Particularly electronical things- I am literally useless in this area.

3.5 Weeks!!! :)

Chongqing!!

I'm moving to Chongqing (pronounced chong-ching)!! In two months time I will be leaving my childhood hometown of Lexington, Ky and (after a brief month stop over in Colorado) moving to Chongqing, China. It's a splendid little city in the central- southern part of China!

Not only is it one of the most stereotypically named Chinese cities, but it is also one of the best. Why? Because I'm moving there, that's why! Also it has a river and quite the skyline, if I do say so myself.

I mean, just look at how pretty it is- it's stinkin' gorgeous- according to Google images (seems like a trustworthy source!!)

Now, if I'm being honest, I don't know all that much about my new home. I desperately need to talk to some of the team members there to learn more, but word on the street is that it is hot and muggy and slightly polluted- SHOCKING!!! It's along the same latitude line as Austin, Texas, so I can see the hot thing. And it's along the Yangtze river, so I understand the muggy-ness. (Luckily I've lived in Kentucky for the past 22 years, so I have a pretty good grip on humidity.) Then there's the pollution- not super in love with that, but what do you expect in a city of 30 million people. 

30 million people.

What?!? No big deal- that's only 100x the city of Lexington. For every one person in Lexington, there are 100 in Chongqing- no big deal. THAT'S PERFECTLY OKAY WITH ME...

In all honesty, I'm really glad to be moving somewhere that is so different from my home now. It'll be a much bigger experience and I'll get a good feel for living in a metropolitan environment. I couldn't be more excited! 

And lucky for you all, with the size of this city, I'm going to get lost a lot.  

Getting Closer

3 Months.

That's how long I have until I head out to Colorado to start my adventure. That's absolutely insane. I really can't believe that this dream that I've had for years is going to be coming true in 3 short months. 3- you can count that number on one hand, even if you were missing two fingers!

I'm going to be keeping you all up to date on my adventure via this lovely blog. I will do my very best to update regularly, but honestly, the next few months are going to be kind of boring. Mostly fundraising updates and me talking about how I can't wait to go. But once I get to China, this is going to be a hotbed of excitement, and probably a bunch of embarrassing stories.

Honestly, can't wait to get started, and I really can't wait to share this with you!