I'm an alien, visiting planet Nap.

Today I exerted so much energy at the kindergarten that I came home, changed into sweat-free, germ-free, kid-free clothing, and hopped in bed for a three hour nap. THREE HOURS. Can I tell you how luxurious a three hour nap is in the middle of the day? No, I can't. Because words fail me.

I've worked pretty nonstop since age 16, and usually over worked myself. It was my own idiocy really. Long work days and then some more work at home in the evenings, oh and don't forget weekends, and why? I'm not entirely sure. It's just always been a problem of mine. Must. Work. MORE. (and sleep less) And what are these nap things anyway?

Now I work seven hours per week. I'm at the school for about 18-20 hours per week, but only seven of those hours are spent teaching. This is still more foreign to me than living here in China. I've started to wrap my head around living in China...I have yet to even start to wrap my head around working so little. It feels weird. Like I'm on Candid Camera (do people even remember that show???) and I'm being watched to see how I'll react to some prank, but in this version of candid camera I know I'm being watched. Where did this overpowering sense of what it means to WORK come from? I'll save that for another day.

So why do I now need 7-8 hours of sleep per night AND a 3 hour nap? There are 148 reasons why, and they each have two hands, two feet, two ears, two eyes, and one giant explosive force that is expelled in my general direction. And somehow, without even realizing it, I give it all right back to them, and then some. I look forward to going to work in the morning, and I find myself going out of my way to interact with them more than required...sitting in on other classes during my free time, greeting them longer than required in the morning as they come in from the buses, exercising with them during the morning exercise time, playing with them during recess, and their new favorite thing: chasing them with "tickle fingers" even when it's 100 degrees out and we all want to pass out. Don't worry, everyone is forced to drink lots of water throughout the day. It feels like while I'm at work, my energy is constantly renewed. By them. But about a half hour after I get home, I can feel the effects. Maybe it's a combination of the heat and the energy expulsion. Or maybe it's old age. Whatever its source, it's my new favorite feeling.