I love you
29 Aug 2010 2 Comments
So it’ s official… it is August 29th… in less than 8 hours I will board a flight to china…
I spent this last week running around like a mad woman packing, spraying all my clothes with bug repellent, seeing all of my friends and family one last time, making lists, etc… and yet out of all of them, the only one I found difficult was seeing my friends and family before leaving… however… it does not even compare to the tears I shed having to say see ya later to my mom, dad, and brother… 19 years 11 months and 3 days… I have been with my parents and brother since the beginning… it’s not easy letting go… I have never been a huge fan of change… but I know this change has to happen
My best friend and I have had a few talks about my trip… encouraging me that I’m doing the right thing…. I am meant to go to china… but honestly if I didn’t have the encouragement… that push that I’m on the correct path… just having to say see ya later to my family was enough… I would have turned right back around… but no… I can do this… It’s only 10 months… I will see everyone when I get back… This is not goodbye…
Love you Mom, Dad, and Josh… I’ll miss you more than words can express…
Where did the summer go…
27 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
2 full days until I leave for china… where in the world did my summer go…
A surprise party thrown for me on Tuesday left me in laughter and tears… what I thought was going to be a simple dinner between my parents, my brother, and I turned out to be a dinner with my grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins,and best friends… the love I felt as I sat at that table was simply indescribable…
Wednesday, I managed to do majority of my laundry and spray half of it with mosquito repellent… and then went to see my ICNHM family one last time before my trip… with every hug, I held in the tears… I’m just not good at staying in one piece when it comes to “see ya later”… but fortunately with the help of my best friend, I got through it.
Today, I spent the day packing away clothes and spraying more clothes down… and then had to go see one of my closest best friends from high school… Spending the evening with her, we watched one of our classic movies/musicals… The Producers… and then proceeded to have lasagna for dinner with her family… and then go putt-putt golfing… needless to say… pro-golfing is not in my future… after a fun night, we had to go our ways… all while keeping tradition… we departed with our typical final statement… “Thank you for being here today”…
As I look back on these last few nights and look forward to my last 2 days… I can honestly say I am very excited… but at the same time, I fight tears as I think about the people I will sorely miss this year abroad… I know I’ll see them again… but I guess I can’t explain it… it’s such a feeling of uncertainty… and me… having been the planner all my life, it’s hard to look at this next part of my life… completely unplanned… uncertain of what I might face… it’s a new arena… and I don’t have any plays… so goodbye Amanda “I must plan everything” Randolph… and hello Miss “Whatever will be will be”…
Time to Stall a Little More…
24 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
So here I am only 5 days until I leave for China…
And I have successfully completed everything on my T0-Do list except for one thing…. packing… ugh
I never thought I would ever have to condense my life into two suitcases and a backpack… but nothing says adventure like living on nothing but the basic essentials…
I’m managing thus far to pack everything… however tomorrow I have the wonderful task of spraying my clothes with a clothing bug repellent… it’s going to be an interesting day tomorrow for sure… I just hope the weather will be a little nicer than it’s been the last few days being that the entire insect-spraying process is supposed to be completed outdoors… it’s moments like now that I wish I had access to a very large tent…
Besides clothes, I’ve basically packed everything else… well minus shoes… that’s a part of my packing experience that I sort of dread… I don’t like to pick favorites and I think all of my shoes are worthy of seeing china… however… when it comes down to packing… I’ll have to make some choices…
On a side note… saw the neurologist for a follow up today… in short, minus the headaches, I am one hundred percent healthy… He said my MRI looked great… and that my brain looks clean… My sleep test showed that I definitely do not have sleep apnea… so another great thing to hear… He thinks all my headaches are nothing more than stress related and it’s nothing a little sleep and destressing can’t fix… so yay for health!!!
On another side note… tonight was by far one of my most fun nights of the summer… I have not laughed so hard in such a long time… seeing two of my closest friends from high school did the trick… we simply had dinner together and laughed about random college experiences… and after seeing how tonight went… I came to one conclusion… Although we may be growing up, we are definitely not growing apart… I could not be more thankful <3
Well… I think I’ve stalled packing enough… I seriously need to continue packing or go to sleep and start fresh in the morning…
well for now… 再见
It’s all so bittersweet
22 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
People always say that saying “goodbye” is the hardest, but I think saying “see you later” is just as hard…
I have known one of my families for 7 years now and having to say “see you later” sent me to tears more times than I can count. They’ve watched me grow up… through my “tom boy” phase in my early high school years… to my “maybe i’ll wear make-up” phase in my later high school years… to my present “I’ll wear make-up, a dress, and heels” phase… I know I’ve only gone from point A to point B, but let me just say… it was a pretty big gap…
This family has simply shown me so much love over the years… and I can’t thank them enough for the support they have given me… they’ve honestly helped shape who I have become… no longer a mere teenager trying to find herself but a strong independent woman who tries to please her father…
<3 my ICNHM family
7 days til China
I promise I won’t cry
15 Aug 2010 2 Comments
As I approach tomorrow… I see the deadline… two weeks until china! eeeekkkk!!!! and so much to do still…
But out of all my preparation… it’s saying “see ya later” to my friends… I just don’t have the heart to ever say goodbye….
But somehow whether I say “see ya later” or “well… see ya soon,” the tears just seem inevitable… I justify my tears with this however…. The friends I have are amazing and I am going to miss each and everyone of them more than anyone could imagine… <3… i can’t go any further with this blog… i’m about to send myself into tears…
night… <3
What a headache…
05 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
So I finally went to the neurologist about the headaches/migraines I have been experiencing over the year…
Without saying a word to the doctor, he turns to me and goes… “You have conscientious written all over your forehead. I can tell you’re a hard worker. You’re the kind of person that people go to when they want something done right. You tend to overload yourself, focusing on completing the task at all costs to your personal needs. You overload yourself with these tasks and because of it, your brain is on overdrive at all times.”
I was taken aback. How could anyone simply look at me and be able to identify the type of person I am.
My doctor then explained that when driving a car for hours straight without stopping, you’re using only one core part of your brain. This type of stress on one part of the brain can cause a headache. He then explained that my constant thinking is potentially the reason why I get headaches so frequently. I never give my brain time to rest because I’m always concerned about something.
The simplest solutions to the problem would be more sleep and being less stressed. So my best friend and I are going to talk and see if we can come up with some clever ways to help me de-stress and let my mind rest some.
Well, I think that’s it for now
<3 再见
How do you do? Wanna buy a ticket?
01 Aug 2010 2 Comments
So yesterday was simply awesome… I finally had dinner with the girl I am going to China with and I have a feeling that we are going to be very good friends… in essence she is me with red hair… I seriously could not be happier…
We also decided it was necessary that we buy our plane tickets to China together… so after hunting all over Geneseo for a place with good wifi… we did it… I leave the US on August 29th and arrive in Chengdu, China on August 31st…
28 days…
Needless to say… Freaking out is something I do a little more often… good thing my best friend has got my back… calming me down is like a daily task…
It’s hard to imagine living out of the country for a year… being away from family and friends… not going to Albany for the year… eating different foods… things are going to be sooooo different…
Well… tomorrow I have an appointment with Passport Health… Apparently they fill you in on all important medical facts about the area you’re traveling to… so I’ll be getting a million vaccine shots… typhoid… rabies… you name it, I’m basically getting it…
Only one of the many things I must do before I leave
Well, I’m off for the night lovelies… goodnight <4653 you all
I AM GOING TO CHINA!!!! AHHHHH!!!
26 Jul 2010 1 Comment
So it finally came!!! MY LETTER FINALLY CAME!!!!!!!!
I can not even begin to express how happy I am…
BEST.DAY.EVER!!!!
I finally have my start date!!! I have to be to China some time between August 26th and September 6th!!!!!!! ONLY A MONTH AWAY!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!
So now I have to start preparing…
Oh the things to do… Apply for my health insurance… Go to NYC to apply for my VISA!…. Figure out what in the world I am going to pack… See some of my friends one last time before I leave… Meet my dear friend Tori who’s going to the same university as me in China… road trip with my girly Alexis… Oh man… this list is getting longer as I really contemplate this…
SO MUCH TO DO!!!
This is unreal….
Never Alone
24 Jul 2010 2 Comments
So in these past few days I discovered something absolutely wonderful…
No matter where I go… I am never alone… I always seem to be provided with that sense of comfort
The one other girl besides myself who will be attending Sichuan University lives not even 15 minutes from me… talk about amazing!!! We’ve been talking over the past few days and from the few emails that have gone back and forth, we seem to have a LOT in common…
I’m going half way across the world… and I have in essence been handed my first friend in China… I can not even begin to express what comfort having at least one friend brings…
And on another amazing note… because we live so close, we have already decided that it is completely necessary that we travel together on the 17 hour flight to our beloved city in China 
So on that amazing happy note… I must go to bed…
so for now… 再见！！！
Dear China… Why do you seem so far away?
19 Jul 2010 Leave a Comment
So here I am… It’s July 19th and I still have not received my letter from Sichuan University…
I’m feeling a little stir crazy…
And let’s not forget the fact that I’m a planner… but I guess I could always use a little spontaneity in my life, right?
Although I don’t know when I’m leaving, I can’t wait… the anticipation is seriously unreal… some days I sit there thinking “wow… I’m going to be in China for an entire year… I’m leaving in approximately a month… wow”
It feels so surreal…
Thinking back on where I started, I remember sitting in Mr. Vergo’s 9th grade social studies class. He would always have bizarre middle names for everyone and mine, for whatever reason, was Amanda “One Day I’m Going to Learn Chinese” Randolph… I used to laugh… I thought to myself, “Yeah right… Chinese? really?”… I never imagined me speaking Chinese….
And then I made it to junior year of high school… after four years of French, I decided to take Spanish as well… So as I pursued these languages, I fell in love… it was from that moment that I felt that pursuing a language in college would only be the logical thing to do…
But then I made it to senior year of high school and took a marketing class… it was then that I realized I would love to pursue business…
Business… languages… hmm… CHINESE! It seemed perfect…
So it was then that I became a Chinese studies major at the University at Albany…
And now, I have a full ride scholarship to Sichuan University in Chengdu, China…
So there’s the brief story of how I became a Chinese major and received the opportunity to go to China…
Can someone pinch me now?
