a deep, prolonged silence

as many friends and family members have come to expect from one stephanie routh, it has been a vast expanse of time since i have written in this here journal. to all three devoted perusers, i offer my usual profound apologies.

THE BRIEF SYNOPSIS
an overview of the past few months in chilly changchun:
well, the ktv foreigner christmas special aired on christmas eve. the critics (meaning my pint-size students and hutong neighbors) received it favorably and sang me snippets from my solo with smiling faces. potential embarassment averted. the cast party included russians, koreans, irish, canadians, and nigerians. great fun and a lot of dancing.
i just finished spending about 3 weeks with my mom and a bunch of linfield students careening around beijing, xi'an, hangzhou, suzhou, and shanghai. this will require at least one full journal entry, so i will leave it for the near future. let's just say it was quite the grand experience.
after much searching, michelle murray aka meng ling and i are planning to swing over to dalian next semester to sling yet some more english. we have been assured by a kickin' cat named bernard that our students will be eye-level with us, as it is a college. excited to be teaching folks with whom i may converse beyond "i want to eat an apple", but will so miss my bourgeoning english speakers at bai da wei! this, too, will require its own entry as well as pictures so that everyone can fully understand the cute factor. no, you cannot have them because they will forever and always be mine.

look forward to a recount of spring festival, or "how i learned to the love the fireworks". must go swimming now but shall expand on this abstract of a tale in the near future. meaning this millenium.
best to all, and may we all learn to get along in perfect harmony.