My mom has arrived in China and we are busy touring around. Beijing then Xi’an and now finally in Yangshuo!
It is strange and cool to see China again through the eyes of a newcomer. I’m surprised now how many things here I take for granted. Some good, some bad. I love it here though and I am excited to return.
The weather has been pretty great so far, and I’ve been able to take some nice shots of the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Great Wall, and more. Hopefully when I get home I’ll have time to assemble some of these things into a photo book documenting my first year in China. It’s been nice having my mom here these past few days, it is cool to show her around … and showing off my bargaining skills as she shops and shops.
In other news, I will be returning in a month! I’ve decided I have to stay the course and keep working towards my goal of Chinese fluency. But this time I’m going to live in Shanghai. It’s good to know where I’ll be for the next few years, but also a little bit scary to think I won’t be home to see my friends and family. I won’t be making much money here, so visiting once a year will have to do, but I am ready to make this change. Now it is just up to finding a new job, and teaching English is basically the only option if I want to make any decent salary. I’ll try to do website development on the side though, and hopefully build that up where I can make more money doing that than teaching.