On the way back to China, I adhered to my traditional "extended layover" in Seattle in order to hang out with the good lady who first helped me survive rural China over eight years ago. Let's just say that Brandi is a rock star. Knowing that good, non-taro-root-flavored marshmallows are basically impossible to find where I live (knowledge that may be due to my moaning about it a little too much), she discovered how to whip up a homemade batch with a recipe I can use here, with only the added assistance of a mixer. So whip up we did. SO. DELICIOUS. (Send me those pictures, Olson!) I have a friend here in town with a KitchenAid mixer and I may have been guilty of yelling "GET READY TO LIVE!" at her the first time we saw each other after summer break.
Also in Seatlle, some friends gave me a HappyLite they were no longer using. Now, I had already prepared for my impending sunshine deficiency and stocked up on this delicious multi-vitamin for its abundance of vitamin D, amongst other things:
However, considering we can typically count the days of sunshine per semester here on one hand, I've heard that the HappyLite can make a world of difference. (Woohoo!)
In other news, Arianne and I had a 15 hour, overnight layover in Beijing and were prepared to just slum it in the waiting area of the terminal, but Arianne had somehow been bumped up to business class on the long flight and had someone waiting for her with a sign in Beijing to let her know the airline had then also booked her a room. Naturally, I said, "Uh...excuse me. I'm with her." So we "slummed" it at the Hilton Beijing instead, y'all.
The school had requested us to return to campus about ten days prior to the start of class. So, after wrapping up some meetings, we found ourselves with enough time to finally venture up to Chengdu and check out the IKEA there. It was everything we'd dreamed of and more. It may have been easier to schlep everything home if a small army had been in attendance, but somehow we made it with just the four of us ladies.
All of our windows now have curtains that don't look like a spirally taupe death march. My floor has a rug that I'm confident will prevent feelings of foot frost this winter - for perhaps the first time ever in China, I felt absolutely comfortable and content lying on the floor. Our kitchen now has adequate shelving. And perhaps the biggest news of all, we are the proud new owners of a sewing machine. Ah, yes. Things are definitely looking up.
So take that, last year! Take it like a man!
