August 2008.

In just 30 days, I will be graduating from CLU with my bachelor's degree in sociology!

Just 2 1/2 months after that, I pack my bags and head to CHINA where I will live and teach English for nearly a year. I am going to be a volunteer teacher (in the sense that I will only recieve a small monthly stipend and won't be saving up any money while I am gone) in the Hunan province with WorldTeach (www.worldteach.org).

Though I am super excited about this experience, I am also nervous about a few things. Among them, I am most nervous about:
1. Being away from home for such a long time. The longest I have been away from home out of the country is 5 1/2 months when I was in Thailand. China is twice as long.
2. Being away from home during the holidays. Holidays are family times, and it's going to be hard to be on the other side of the world from them, especially during the Christmas.
3. Being away from my little brother. Tommy turns 11 this summer and starts middle school in the fall! And I am going to miss out on his entire first year of middle school. Also, Tommy is my favorite person in the world, and I am just going to miss him so much in general!
4. The Chinese language. I am in my second semester of Chinese, so I have a basic knowledge of the language. My problem (and this is true with every language I have ever tried to learn - Spanish, Thai...) is actually speaking it. Basically I need to get over my fear of sounding stupid, because I probably do. But I'll never get better if I don't try.

Don't get me wrong, even though I am definitely nervous about this experience, I am even more excited about it! I am excited to meet the people (both Chinese people and the other WorldTeach volunteers), learn about and live in the culture, get the teaching experience (and find out if I really want to teach as a career), eat the food, travel the country, improve my language skills...and the list goes on.

I started this blog as a way to keep my family and friends updated as I prepare for my year in China, and then while I am actually living in China. Keep checking back as I will update as new information arises (my exact departure date, mailing address, teaching position, etc.) and other thoughts and feelings that arise as I get closer to my departure.

Feel free to contact me if you have any comments, questions, advice, etc. I would love to hear from you!