Some Things Never Change

So, I realize I have been massively failing at writing in my blog since I left Guiyang. Especially since I've been in Nanjing, I just have had a lull in writing. Mostly because I feel like I don't have anything to say. And partially because I feel like I'm not really doing anything exciting. I mean, I'm not visiting all these cool places every weekend like I did in Guiyang. I'm really just kind of working and living. I'm eating and sleeping.Walking places and watching TV and playing card games and just doing a bunch of boring things. Basically, its like living at home, except I'm doing it all in China.

Even though I am in this completely different world and everything is so Chinese, its nice to knew that somethings just don't change. For example:

I am still just as accident prone as ever. And basically bad luck just follows me around wherever I go. I can be walking normally one second and then be flat on my behind the next because apparently gravity and I just don't get along. I managed to be involved in a minor motorbike "accident" and a bicycle "accident" in the same week. That's something really only I could pull off.

Then, I managed to break not only my bicycle but someone else's too in one week time. On my bicycle, I managed to kick the kickstand right off. Then, the next week as I was riding my bike home, one of the pedals just magically fell off. When I borrowed a friends bike the next week, I managed to make one of her pedals fall off. Again, something only I could pull off.

There are also some good things that don't change or are at least the same no matter where I go.

Example: The smell of Starbucks.  I love that I can walk into a Starbucks in China and feel like I am back at the Square making lattes (and making a mess) and just having a fun time. I love that the music you hear in Chinese Starbucks is the same music you would hear in a US Starbucks.

I love when  I can hear a sound or smell a smell and it reminds me of a very specific moment or time in life. When life gives you this deja vu moment and you could just swear that you've lived this exact moment already.

I love that I can watch a Youtube video for the millionth time and still laugh like its the first time I've ever seen it.

Honestly, I think so much of people's unhappiness can so easily be avoided. And today was a day that I really noticed that. I mean, I've been struggling lately. I don't know if I've been missing home or what, but China has been extra challenging. And trust me, I know some days can be WAY harder than others. You always have to deal with a language and culture barrier and sometimes you just wish you could read a street sign or be able to say "excuse me" on the metro and not have to push your way through. But, you really can choose what you allow to bring you down. So many problems have a simple solution. If you're cold, put on a coat. If you're lonely, go outside and walk for two minutes and just smile at a stranger. If you're sad, watch "David After Dentist" and I guarantee you will be laughing in three minutes. And sure, some problems are bigger than that. And I don't get why people always feel the need to face their problems alone. That's just so dumb.

And now I have truly proved that some things never change. Because I totally just meant to post this tiny little blurb about really nothing and then I got off on like three different tangents and I don't even remember what I originally wanted to say.

Oh well.