2008 already, unbelievable.

We went to the New Years party, which started out kinda slow but turned out to be really fun overall. It was great to be able to see everyone one last time before I leave on the 22nd (only 19 days left, OMG!). It was especially nice to see the girls again - and I got to talk to Shahnaz more about the wedding plans. It turns out her friend is almost definitely not going to be able to come, which concretes the “koldash” spot for me. :) The wedding is scheduled for the end of August, which gives me a solid 7+ months to learn how to speak & dance Uighur-style. And to get my dress(es) made. I’m so excited!

Graduation was great. Dai-An was right when he said it gets kinda unexpectedly emotional. That whole Wow, I’m actually done! feeling hit me out of nowhere and I might have teared up a little. Aziz bey and Gwen came down for the ceremony, which was awesome. It was so nice to see them again after such a long time. They’re really the only family we have in the U.S. so it meant a lot for me to look into the stands and see them sitting with my parents and Camira, cheering me on. Aja’s family was there for the main commencement ceremony and they came over for brunch on the Friday after graduation; it was nice to see them again as well.

I really didn’t have a chance to catch my breath after graduation before all the holiday stuff started. There was bayram & all the craziness that comes with that, and then Christmas and New Years. Hasan & Amina’s family came down for New Years and went to the party with us, then came for brunch the next day - it was nice seeing them too. Canan and Fatih are so big now! It makes me feel old.

Yesterday was the first day of work (of “real life”) after all the graduation/holiday madness, and it was the first chance I had to look at the calendar and think OMG, I’m leaving for Urumqi in 20 days. Understandably, I freaked out a little. I had the weirdest dream the night before, about trying to hold back gushing water from flooding a house or something… stress will do that to you. But I took care of some things & just now I took a look at the WorldTour(TM) Travel Prep List and I realized that I could check a lot of things off. The only major things left now are the doctor’s appointments and the financial stuff, which I will take care of tomorrow and next week, and then we’re set to go!