Whoa. I'm in Beijing. I'm living in Beijing. This is my new reality. This is what I've been wanting to do for a long time - probably a couple of years now - and I've finally transformed my aspirations into actuality. It hasn't been easy, and my first week here was especially overwhelming. I went apartment hunting 4 days in a row, met up with 8 friends, started job hunting, signed an apartment contract, joined a gym, and went on a date all within the first week and a half. phew! The good news is that now, after 2 weeks, what was once so new and different is already becoming familiar - it's amazing how quickly people adapt to new situations.
Even though I'm still pretty stressed about job hunting, and I only understand half of what's said around me, I can already tell that coming to China was the right decision. It's an everyday challenge just to navigate my way around here every day, and though it comes with some stress, I like that challenge. I didn't realize just how comfortable....actually, complacent, I was with my life in Chapel Hill. I felt in control of every aspect of my life there, yet somehow felt lost. Here, I'm forced left and right to give up on my perfectionist tendencies and the necessity to know exactly what's going on around me (sign this 1 year apartment contract that I can't read at all? sure!), and I feel great! Who knew?
jason, you are fantastic! you are my hero! you are really, really, really awesome! and i stand by that! thank you so much for your email and for sharing your blog site - i bookmarked it for future returns. i'm so glad to hear that moving to china was what you wanted it to be - a challenge, a shake-up, a beginning. you do what you want, and that is so brave. know that no matter what potential setbacks you may face (as if you will - i have no doubt you will rock this), you have a network of friends that are always here for you. always.
ReplyDeleteHah! Yes! So excited for you.
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