After an unanticipated but nonetheless exciting and productive vacation from the world of blogging, I’m back!  I’m not quite sure how it just so happened that I haven’t managed to write a post in quite a while – and yet, I have returned to fill you all in on the adventures that have occurred since my last post.

Classes have finally come to a close this semester, I have proctored my students’ final examinations, and I am now in the process of churning out their semester grades (which I’m sure they’re all tremendously excited to receive).  On our last day of class, I took a few pictures of my students that are definitely worth sharing here:

GXNU English majors are required to move from Guilin’s Yucai campus to one located in Yanshan, about an hour’s drive from the city, after their second year of study.  Yanshan is currently home to almost nothing but countryside, but Guilin’s major universities are transitioning their students there slowly in hopes of creating a sort of ‘college town’ nestled in between between already-developed Guilin and Yangshuo.  That being said, I’m not exactly sure when I’ll see this semester’s students again, and I will definitely miss seeing all of their smiling faces each week.

By the end of this week, I am required to turn in all of my students’ semester grades; in addition, I’ve got to take my Chinese final exams.  By Friday, though, I am officially free for the summer!  Next Monday, July 12, celebrates my 23rd birthday.  On July 15, my best friend from the States will arrive in Guilin and stay for a year; by July 16, she and I will be on our way to Southeast Asia for a six-week, mind-blowing  journey through Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.