Marooned

I'm feeling a bit out of sorts, since I'm about to be marooned in China. Gaaaa!

Carol has to go home to Canada in a few days to get her persistent ear infection taken care of. The Chinese health care system has been a bit frustrating for her, as many doctor visits and rounds of medicine have not proved effective. Her ear has continued to bother her since January, and now the doctors say she needs surgery to repair it.

Carol will soon be off to Canada, and I'll be all by lonesome working in Guangzhou. It'll be tough to hack it by myself once she's gone. Carol's been solid company for me since we got off the plane in August. We've had good times, and have gotten along really well.

So far, save for two weeks at the beginning of the term, the whole of my China experience has included Carol. We've done everything together, and now I'll be forced to try and slug away by myself. My whole frame of reference for this year of teaching is shifting, and it will take some getting used to.

I don't really have the option of moping around though. If I do that, the last two months of teaching will be intolerable. The only thing I can do is forge ahead and make my own China experience. Maybe I'll throw myself into my work, or start running for two hours every day. Maybe I'll try to learn Indonesian in preparation for my trip to Bali, or triple the number of books I read.

Whatever I decide to do, I must be strong! I need to stay positive and not let Mother China kick me into the dirt like she did in the first term.

Onwards and forwards!