I hope you had the time of your life.

Holy smokes! Where have I been? Let me tell you.

1. The fall semester was a crazy wild ride. I have been working in my role as Head of Grade 7 for months now, but I had my first "emergency" during the Grade 7 Camp in September. A student had an accident and ran into a glass window that shattered and cut three of his fingers. YIKES! We headed to the hospital, for what I thought would be some stitches because I never saw the actual injury. Well, turns out he cut his tendons in all three fingers. All ended well, and no one was fired!

2. I finishes my MASTERS degree in December! Yay! No more Saturdays and Sundays holed up in Starbucks reading, reflecting, and writing papers!

3. We traveled to India for my best friend's wedding, and it was amazing! In proper Indian shaadi tradition, there were multiple events, glamorous outfits, and food that was to die for. It was a Woodstock reunion, which brought a lot of emotions.

I always talk about the island that we can't go back to. We've been back to Mussoorie several times since leaving, but it's never the same. Even when all of besties were gathered together for Doma's dinners and volleyball games, it just wasn't the same. Maybe it's because we all have more money now and know that we won't be freezing through winter. Who knows.

Bridesmaids and Bride looking fly

Bachelorette Party in a place called "Cyber Hub" 

Mother in-law sari wrapping the most beautiful Bengali bride of all time. 

Smyes all the way from the Mainland and HK

Muusoorie Winterline- PC Ingrid

 3. After the wedding, we headed to the Agonda, Goa with the Hong Kong party. It was definitely time for some relaxation after the week long wedding festivities. Our first and last trip to Goa had been December 2011-our first holiday together after my first semester at Woodstock.

It was still glorious, and Agonda delivered in all of the beach demands: clean, quiet, cheap, and fun activities. We played volleyball with a hodgepodge of abilities and ethnicities. I went on short jogs around the area. We took swims out to the rock, and we ate.

The only thing that continued to plague the trip was the currency crisis, which was a disease that followed us for the whole trip. Basically, India got ride of two major denominations of its currency, introduced a new bill, tried to make the turnover happen in one moth, and basically ran out of money for the over one billion people living in India. ATMs rarely had cash, and when they did, you were limited to how much you could take out. Foreigners were only allowed to exchange $70/week. It was  a pain. Especially when we were constantly traveling with other foreigners in Delhi who had no cash. I hope India sorts itself out soon! It was annoying for us as visitors, but I cannot imagine the effects this has had on local people who live in a cash for service world.

We did abs for 7 minutes. Because balance.

4. I have not been running much because my knee has still been bothering me a bit. I went to four different doctors and had an MRI done on both knees. The verdicts were mixed from surgery, to injections, to "stop running" recommendations. It hurts less now because I am not running. I did a little 200 m sprint during a PE class a couple days ago, and oofta, my knee was in pain the next day. I'm doing some pilate-yoga plan right now. I did some mixed martial arts training in December, and turned into the hulk-specifically the right side of my body. I'm hoping this yoga-pilates will help me get my body back together! I'm still doing my Monday night fitness class with staff, which always motivates me!

5. After I came home from India (about 6 pounds lighter because I got some serious food poisoning on my last day in Delhi), I was feeling lost and down about being back in China. I had just finished the best reunion of all time with my favorite people, and I was back in the land of gray and smog with no besties. Anwer was offered a job at my school for next semester (just before we left for the holiday), which means we have signed another two year contract. I am at the halfway point for my Suzhou life. I still don't speak Mandarin. It's all so terrible to think about. Suzhou is great in a lot of ways, but I am looking for something more soul-filling.

In my freed up time resulting from being Master-less, I hit the world of the internet and decided my next goal: an ironman triathlon (half distance-70.3)! There are a few races scheduled in China in the fall. We'll see if I can get it all sorted by then, but it's a nice goal to work towards. It'll keep me physically and mentally busy.

6. My parents, Briana, and Megan are scheduled to arrive in China in just a couple days! We're going on a little Chinese New Year tour, which is sure to be a wild ride!