Adjustments

Most of you know that I have plenty of experience moving to new places.  It's taken me this long to recognize it, but I am realizing there is a pattern to how I adjust myself to my new situations in life.  Upon first arrival, I am incredibly eager to meet everyone, see everything, and make as many friends as possible.  Healthy attitude, I think.  At this stage, I intentionally try to accept every social invitation offered to me.  But at some point, all the new people I am meeting start competing for my limited time, and I find myself with more social obligations than any sane person can handle.  That's when the real challenge of moving comes in: I have to make decisions about where to invest my time and what social circles are worth pursuing.  The problem is rarely that there are no worthwhile social circles or activities to join.  Rather, I usually end up having to say "no" to a lot of good opportunities. 

 

I'm hitting that stage here in Shenyang.  That stage that I really don't like.  That stage where I have to say "no."

 

Take this past week, for example.  Every morning, Monday to Friday, I'm supposed to have Chinese class from 8:30 to 12:00.  Before the week even started, I had plans for every afternoon from 1:30 to 3:00 (give or take).  Tuesday through Friday I also had evening plans (5:30-9:00, more or less), which left me with only Monday evening as a free chunk of time all week.  That didn't last long, though; Monday morning, my Chinese teacher asked me to help him with English, so I spent 5 hours with him that afternoon/evening.  (I enjoyed that, though; we went out for possibly the best Chinese food I've ever had, which is definitely saying something.)  So Monday through Friday were completely booked.

 

At least I have the weekeneds, though, right?  Yeah, good try.  Saturday I had back-to-back appointments from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., after which I enjoyed a nice little break before my evening engagements starting at 7:00.  And Sunday?  I've made it my "day off," but it's amazing how short the day is when you have commitments to the fellowship from 3:00-8:00 in the afternoon.  And this week I'm going out for dinner with someone after that. 

 

So if you've been wondering why I haven't kept up very well on this blog since writing about my trip to Inner Mongolia, maybe this helps you understand.  I've been far too busy. 

 

My goal for this coming week is to maintain a better balance in my schedule.  It's difficult, though, to know where to start cutting my activities.  I have enjoyed everything I have done in the past week, and basically in my entire time in China.  So if you have any ideas on helping me decide which good things to cut, let me know.