one of those days
today i’m having a, ‘i really miss china day.’ i look back and reminiscence the simplicity of life and people. And it doesn’t help that I keep looking through pictures of china to try to hold onto the good ol’ days. Life is funny. All I can do now is think fondly of my time in China. I still kinda remember the difficult times but it has become more blurry.
people have also asked me if i would go overseas again. with certain things in place, i would. i know what i need to thrive, and i’m going to wait until those certain things are in place before i head out again.
work has been a little overwhelming. i help low income and people on unemployment find jobs, and i’m sensing the pressure of meeting numbers and deadlines, etc etc. this past week we finally met with our clients, and hearing their stories has really motivated me to try my bestest to help them find jobs.
it’s been really interesting seeing how needs are being met here and how it’s done in china. i’m not sure if it’s because funding for my job comes from the government, but ya know, our government takes pretty good care of us. i’ve met people who have been on unemployment for nearly two years now. and there are so many other gov’t-funded programs, non-profits, orgs that are willing and able to serve. while in china, there are people wanting to help others out, but there’s so much red tape and obstacles. and i can’t imagine the chinese government funding a program like mine.
before i moved back to the states, i was afraid of entering into the hum-drum american life, where i go to work everyday, get off work, go home, eat dinner and go to bed. and i can see myself entering that. work has been very consuming. i don’t have the energy to do anything at the end of the day because i’m so exhausted from work. i’ve been waking up early, worried about whether or not i could handle the day ahead. but i’m chugging along… my motto as of late has been, “amy, if you can handle china, you can handle anything.”
I like your mantra. Remember that the first month or two at a new job are just hard… you have a steep learning curve. Something would probably be wrong if you weren’t exhausted at the end of your days. But you won’t always be.
I can’t wait for our next lunch date. We can talk about social services!
thanks christine! i can always count on your for some encouraging words. =) it sounds like things have been pretty intense for you lately too. perhaps we can plan a yummy pho outing next week sometime?