Day 99- working to find my happy place :)

As I left for the subway today, I saw this old fellow in the courtyard.
He was practicing his Chinese characters with a large 'paintbrush'.
If you look closely, at the top of the pole is an attached water
bottle.  It's kind of like playing with sidewalk chalk, only different.
No mess to clean up!

There are two things guaranteed to make me smile. Every time.
One is seeing the beautiful Chinese children, especially the
little Chinese girls with their lopsided pig tails.  The other one
is to see the elderly Chinese- whether they are gathered in the
courtyard of my apartment complex in the afternoon sun,
playing raucous card games on the stoop outside of Walmart,
or like this elderly couple, pedaling along in their three
wheeled bicycle across the crazy Beijing traffic.  I look at
this elderly couple and I see love, plain and simple. In my
mind, he has spent the better part of his adult life loving
this woman.  They looked like poor peasants, but rich in love.

I must admit, it was been a rough week for me.  It was my
first Thanksgiving that wasn't, and I was far, far from home,
my family, and all the traditions that began with Thanksgiving.
I've been fighting the blues, for sure.  Add to that, and I am now
back to being alone in my apartment again. After a twelve
hour sleep last night (I have been worn out- physically,
mentally, and emotionally), I woke up with the attitude
that I needed to change my attitude.  It was time to find my
happy place.  First, I had to find the salon I went to nearly
two months ago.  An hour subway ride and a twenty minute
walk (with only one time turning around!) I found my way
back to Ken who gave my dry, dry hair a deep conditioning
treatment.  Navigating my way across town once again
by myself, was a moral victory, and it had me smiling.
(And my hair feels fabulous :)

After my salon treatment, I treated myself with a trip to
Jenny Lous, a Western grocery store.  It's a bit pricey
for sure, and though it is small, I can get some of my
much missed comforts, like microwave popcorn,
brie, black beans, avocados, pickles, and corn meal
for making tortillas.  There was lots more I purchased,
and was I ever weighed down for the twenty minute
walk to the subway, an hour on the train, and another
twenty minute walk home.  Though it was cold, raining,
and the AQI was over 300, I worked up a sweat...

And an appetite :)  Dinner was my version of a Greek salad
(maybe?)  Tossed greens, carrots, cucumbers, salami,
black olives, feta cheese cubes, olive oil and balsamic
vinegar.  And not one, but two, pretzel rolls :)

While I should have been grading this evening, I worked on getting my flight home changed.  My flight back to Indiana was to leave late on January 30th, arriving on the 31st.  Now I am getting in on January 28th instead.  This will allow me two full weeks to visit the girls, see my mom, brother, and his family, visit a few friends, and get to Arkansas and back before I continue on to Florida. I leave for the Keys on February 12th, and will fly out of Miami to return to Beijing on February 28th.  We have the month of February off here in China.  Many are planning travel to warmer parts, but since I have already been to Thailand and the Philippines, it was more important for me to get back to the States.  With that settled, the countdown is on...60 days until I am back home in Indiana :)  Seeing my family again is sure to bring a smile to my face; even more so than little Chinese girls in lopsided pigtails.

G'nite, y'all!