Yes my friend, I'm with you on that one and if anyone mentions ESL/EFL, I'll feign deafness. Yeah, I want to watch that bobber float and want to be dazzled by the sun sparkling on the water. Maybe I'll be thinking about China but it won't be my classes that occupy my thoughts. Perhaps it will be the remembrances of Dali - how the clouds try to spill over the mountains right before sunset and how the sun lights them up so that they look like lava that suddenly explodes and trails off in many directions

Or maybe I'll be thinking about yesterday and how I was totally captivated while watching rice being planted - the sure and methodical and uncomplaining labor of those who were totally there in that moment.

If someone wants to talk about China, I'll tell them about the last village I visited and how the people were so kind and how they honored me to no end. How they showed me all around the village and the pride they displayed as they showed me their apple orchards and how I was treated to an incredible lunch with so many people laughing and sharing their humble lives. And how I was given a box of the most tasty apples I've ever had. And the smile of those children. Oh those beautiful kids and those laughing eyes.

Yeah, c'mon July. I've not been home for over a year now. I don't even know who I really am there. Know what I mean? It gets harder to relate every time I go back. But still, I'll be there in the here and now just like those rice planters, and I'll be watching that bobber float and I'll be dazzled by the sparkling water and I'm sure I'll be sharin' a beer with someone. And what will I say as I take that thankful swig beneath the hot sun? "Here's to China!"