A Case of The January

I know what all of you are thinking. 

"Laura, where have you BEEN??" 

Yes, even the queen of updates has taken a bit of a hiatus. 

The truth is, I've had a case of The January.

It's the place where cold, smog, culture shock, and post-holiday blues collide to create a sad lump of womanhood shivering underneath blankets, cuddling with the space heater, and looking at pictures of pretty things on Pinterest.

Ok, maybe I'm being dramatic. 

But I think you get the point. 

This week marks the halfway point of my time in China. It also marks the beginning of my Spring Festival holiday, which is 45 days long. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

Last Monday we went to school expecting to have two more weeks before the end of the semester. We were also planning on giving finals. 

And we were going to have a nice, relaxed time to say bye to our classes for a while.

Then the school told us that the foreign teachers were going to leave a week early, we weren't allowed to give our finals, we weren't coming back until February 27th, and the entire primary is shifting around buildings so that next semester we will have different offices, possibly different co-teachers, and maybe even different classes of kids.

Oh, ok. No big deal. 

 (those are Chinese sleeve protectors, by the way)

I actually felt more like this: 

Because I didn't want to leave my kids for that long, I didn't want to live with the uncertainty of next semester's circumstances when I'm just forming good relationships with my babies, and I didn't want another week of pre-traveling nothing in the city where smog hangs like a dirty wet blanket in the sky.

Let's be real, though. It's not like HE wasn't anticipating all the change. None of this surprised Him, and He has a reason for changes. Maybe it's just to teach me that I'm not as flexible as I thought I was and that I don't trust Him as much as I thought. When you're in the middle of an experience like this, it's easy to want to believe that you are superwoman because you can put up with bedbugs and homesickness and dirt...but I'm not superwoman. I'm Laura, and I'm here to be taught and to grow closer to the Father. He doesn't want me to forget that. 

As it was the last week of the semester, I obviously clung to little moments with my babies. I spent extra time dawdling in the hallways just so I could run into more students. I gave more hugs, played more, and paid more attention to individual children.

 Ginger from Class 19 gave me a card that said "Happy New Year Ms. Lafu". 

Jamison (who spells his name "Januson") from Class 13 told me he loved me. 

Classes 12 and 14 gave me group hugs (you haven't had a real hug until it's from a gaggle of tiny Chinese children). 

Anita from Class 16 crashed into me in the hallway and exclaimed, "I like you!!!" 

Bill and Angel from Class 12 glued themselves to my sides as I walked down the hallway away from their class. 

I had a half-English, half-Chinese mini-conversation in the hallway with Grace, Amy, Brandon, and Steven from Class 19. 

I made Fabio from Class 16 smile when he looked like he was having a bad day. 

Shawn from Class 18 sought ME out for the first time to show me a comic book. 

I actually bonded a little with Class 15. 

Connor from Class 19 ran up to me in the hallway, shoved a picture of Snow White into my hands, and ran away again.

I started becoming friends with some of my Sass-cracker boys.

It's only been three days and I already miss their baby faces. 

Even Jonah, who makes me crazy. 

Next Sunday I'll start my month-long period of Spring Festival traveling (yee-haw!), and it'll be nice to get out of Taiyuan for the first time since Thanksgiving. 

But until February 27th, I'll be missing my little China smiles.