It’s been a little over a month since I’ve returned back to the USA and have been getting settled back into my old routine. It’s been quite the shock to the system to come back to the States and part of me feels like I had a stroke and had a feverish dream about China. Then I look back on all my wonderful photos and am glad that it was real and I really did get to experience something as wonderful.

I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on the past year and the future and would not change a thing about what I did. Such a great experience and I hope I get asked to do something like it again. Back in reality, I’ve been getting used to my old job which honestly is just like the job I was doing in China, just with more English. I am glad I am fortunate to go back into a comfortable place to ease back into things. I do miss my friends and life in Shanghai. It was much simpler (no bills and no worries) and my friends were great people who really made living overseas so much better. I hope our paths will cross again and I am glad we have been able to keep in touch.

On the homefront, it only took 5 days for Daniel and I to find a place to live and so far we are loving it. It’s not as close to work as we used to live, but its nice and quite and the apartment, even though its smaller, still feels big. I’ve decided to keep most of my stuff in storage and will start pulling things out as needed (I urgently need a toaster!). It also gives us plenty of storage for the extra stuff we have no place for until we are able to finally buy a place in the future.

In the car front, it’s been a rollercoaster ride. I’ve now been without a car since the end of May 2015 – the longest I’ve ever been without a car since I got my license. The first few weeks were the toughest, but honestly it hasn’t been that bad. We’ve been carpooling everywhere and its been fine. We’ve had a few pain in the rear end days where schedules or what have you haven’t worked out and that really got me thinking about what kind of car I really need. I honestly don’t need an everyday car, just something that I can use a couple times a month.

Thinking about the future and not wanting to have car payments – I’ve had them since 1996 – I made the decision that I should get a used car. Me being me though, I’ve also decided I don’t need a boring practical car, but I should get something enjoyable. Nevertheless, it has led me down a crazy road and my next post will be the complete story (I hope) about me getting the car of my dreams.

Stay tuned!