Sunshine, feelin' fine

My readers all know of my warm-hearted affinity for autumn & winter activities, smells, beauty, etc.  As spring & summer merge together, however, you simply can't help but feel your spirits rise with the toasty warm sun.  I am definitely a fan of the more laid-back, less-dressed arrival of summer.

I went on a long, 8-mile run the other day, way out on the Chipman Trail, which follows the highway over to Moscow, Idaho, alongside the warm, rolling wheat fields.  It was a most delicious hour of dusk, when the air is still warm, the sky is turning pink, and the fields around me look more and more golden brown.  It reminded me of the love I've developed for this place over the past 4 years.  I don't want to stay forever, but I truly do love living here.  It's an incredible place.

With the ending of school, it is time to start working 40-hour weeks (really only a short step up from my 30-hour weeks during the semester).  At least my schedule is much more open now, so I can hand-pick the most ideal hours I would like.  Oh, the advantages of writing everyone's work schedules (including my own : D).

On that note, I have some big news.  I have made the decision to not return to school in the fall or spring next year.  I have an enormous weight over my height with bills, loans, and all the while trying to save up to go to China.  My priority needs to be the lattermost of those.  Even if I got my degree now (which has a lot of ridiculous redtape standing in my way), I am not fluent in Chinese.  I can barely hold a solid conversation.  I am tired of learning it in a classroom; any true linguist would agree that is the worst, most frustrating way to go.  Instead of taking bogus classes, which are not even relevant to me, my intention is to save up enough money to attend Beijing Language & Culture University for two semesters of intensive Chinese language classes.  By the end of that year, I will be quite fluent, and ideally a lot of my work there will transfer back to WSU & satisfy some of my remaining credits.  I can work & take a semester to finish up whatever else the university requires, and then I'll be set for the workforce.  If possible, I'd like to follow up my return to the U.S. with an intensive summer in the International Chinese Language Program in Taipei, Taiwan.  SUPER good program (but much more expensive)!

I still have all of my Chinese textbooks, as well as the textbooks for the next 3 levels, which I can use to continue my learning and practice.  I also have a number of native Chinese friends, with whom I've recently regained contact (much easier now that finals are over), who would be more than happy to help me.

It's interesting how many opportunities there are, even here in Pullman, for the line of work I'm interested in.  A friend of Adrian's recently asked me if I would be willing to translate some legal forms for his father's law firm, as they frequently receive Taiwanese clients with poor English, and he would pay me for my services (at this time, it is slightly beyond my scope of abilities, which brings me back to my point that I just need to get my butt to China).  One of my professors asked our class if anyone would be willing to serve as interpreters for a business conference.  These are just a few examples of ways I can acquire experience in my field, especially given the large Chinese population Washington State University draws in.