Smooth Sailing...

I hope none of my "regular readers" (even saying that makes me laugh out loud) thought the subject line was a reference to my stomach problems of late. Actually, I am happy to say I had my first real meal of the week tonight. It was Italian-style spaghetti marinara with bacon, vegetables and probably too much spice for my poor stomach. I have to say, it was delicious (and not just because it was a real meal--it was actually very well prepared).

Anyhow, the subject line is actually related to my other main happiness--classes are officially done! Both of my exams today were longer and more challenging than I expected, but exchange programs are graded as pass/fail and I'm pretty confident that I did well enough. So all of those horrible commutes are now a thing of the past. Whew. Actually, the fact that school is over really hit me tonight when I got back from dinner and was hanging my heavy coat up in my closet. I realized that I wouldn't be putting that coat back on for at least 5 weeks!

Just a quick point of reference on that topic:

5-day forecast in Chicago: Highs in the upper 30's and lower 40's
5-day forecast in Seoul: Highs in the lower 30's (colder than Chicago, again)
5-day forecast in Hanoi: Highs in the upper 60's and lower 70's
5-day forecast in Koh Samui: Highs in the upper 80's and lower 90's

That pretty much says it all. Oh wait, then there's the 6 hours of class a day, which I will soon be replacing with 6 hours of kickboxing a day. And the 3 hours of commuting a day, which I will soon be replacing with 3 hours of relaxing a day (in all likelihood I'll really be replacing it with 3 hours of crying softly to myself about how sore I am, but since I'll be able to do that on the beach in Thailand it still sounds nice).

Look out for posts with pics of Vietnam to come shortly!

Warm weather, here I come.



PS--I have recently discovered The xx ( yes Jake Mintz, you are my musical Yoda; I hope you liked the New Yorker article btw) and can't stop listening to them. If you don't own their album then stop making bad decisions and get it.