Tomorrow's the big day

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." - Dune by Frank Herbert

So it's a Saturday night and my flight is tomorrow. It just feels really surreal to be traveling to a different country all by myself. The rest of the packing was....well, my mom decided she would repack for me so that was interesting. But she got me smaller luggages so I guess that's a win. I'm a bit nervous because I know I'm one of those people that forget something and remember at the last minute. Le sigh. I'm a lot of "one of those people" honestly! My brother is graduating tomorrow from his MBA program and it's disappointing to miss it but I would have planned to leave later if I could. Dearest mother of mine is still convinced something bad is going to happen to me because I'm just a little kid who doesn't know anything. Parents...! Although I do enjoy all of my favorite foods that she's cooking. In between the yelling and warning of kidnappers, scammers and drug dealers, I know it's all because she cares. Stressful but caring. I'm going to miss my family and friends. Nervousness, anxiety, and fear aside, this is going to be one of the best summers of my life. I can tell.

This is not how I will be on the plane but Bridesmaids makes me laugh and I need it. 

I might update at some airport but if not, see you in China blog buddies!
-Thomas

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Packing [Part One]

Today was laundry day so I could figure out what I should pack for next week. My mom got called into work so I was left to pack by myself, unlike what I had mentioned in my previous post. Packing is really stressful unless you're one of those people that...well....pack only the bare necessities. If you've seen Up In The Air with George Clooney, you know what I'm talking about. Anyways, after two hours of struggling, I managed to pack my carry on with all the clothes! Check it out.

Packed my closet into my carry on. Kudos to me.

To say that's my entire closet is honestly a blatant lie. Everyone usually has clothes they will wear and don't want people to see them in or clothes that are just too nice to wear for just any occasion. These are the clothes that fall in the grey middle ground, the clothes that are decent for everyday public use and the clothes that are a little bit classier. Plus, these clothes represent my style. (And I won't be dying in them in the Shanghai summer heat, at least not entirely!) My packing advice is to roll your clothes up. I literally rolled up everything. There's 4-5 layers of rolled up clothes and I'm also packing my laptop into my carry-on (which will probably contain a lot of my documents as well, but I'm making a bunch of copies and dispersing them in my luggage in case I lose stuff.) I decided to pack light on socks because I'm sure that's easy to get there. Shoes....That's a tricky issue, especially if you have like a bagillion pairs. There, you're on your own! I'm only bringing the pair I'm wearing on the plane and it's perfect for every condition. I'll also have a pair of flip flops because, uh, hello summer in China! Hopefully the weather isn't too whack there as it is here. And don't worry, toiletries are going in one of the front zippers. My advice for toiletries to to just get the nifty travel ones. Small and inexpensive! There's bound to be plenty of that stuff in China.

I'm gonna sign off before I keep rambling. Holla~

-Thomas

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One Week Away

I'm leaving next Sunday, which is a frightening thought. It seemed quite awhile away a few days ago but I guess the one week mark usually kicks me into high gear. This week is going to be super busy. I'm going to have to spend forever packing because I'm that person that overpacks - anyone else with me? It's hard to find the right clothes to bring and then bringing backup stuff and shoes and... But honestly though, I get really lazy and end up wearing baggy T-shirts and sweats all the time. My mom is going to help me pack though - which really means she's going to pack for me as I complain why she's packing the oddest clothes. An adult is still a kid in their parents eyes, am I right? Oh well, that's an excuse (however weak) to buy some nice outfits over there.

Also, I'm struggling to figure out what to buy as a gift for my Chinese roommate. I know nothing about them and I'm sure anything I buy over here, it would be available in China as well. My mom always buys chocolates or some sort of candy that isn't available in Vietnam as a gift for family members when she (or anyone in my family) goes to Vietnam. I'm leaning towards that. Maybe make some sort of fun assorted candy gift bag? Let me know what you think or if you have comments or suggestions on this!

There is a bunch of financial stuff I have to take care of as well. Always be prepared for that because it's so hard to do any of that stuff in a foreign country. Otherwise, I'm just going to chill at home, hang out with some friends, and practice my Chinese. I'll probably try to brush up on a bunch of characters I forgot how to write and keep learning a word (or phrase) a day! You know what they say... 孰能生巧 (shu2 neng2 sheng1 qiao3). Practice makes perfect. Use this four word idiom to impress your Chinese (mandarin?) speaking friends.

You can be smooth like this if you take my advice!

-Thomas

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