Coming back
It feels like knowing exactly where to go my first night in Beijing to get a sandwich for dinner and to buy toothpaste. It feels like being met by Miriam at the front gate of school with an extra umbrella, because it's torrential rain season in Sichuan (which means that the temperatures are leveling into something comfortable!) It feels like getting into my apartment and everything (except the freshly spray-painted door) being familiar. The summer was crammed full of good, but it feels good to be back in my own space, where I can actually unpack and restock my fridge and think about what changes to make (like adding a hammock to my porch!) It feels like showing our two new teachers around the area -- campus, Jiezi, Dujiangyan. It feels like running into students and having the first group of people over for coke chicken. It feels normal, and that feels good. It took a few days of buying food and rehanging things that had fallen off the walls over the summer and clea