A Real Anniversary

Yesterday I was walking back to the office after eating lunch when it hit me. I am living and working in China. This is real. This is my life.

I almost missed the moment in the normalcy of it. I was waiting to cross the street, thinking about my tasks for the afternoon, when I looked up and noticed for the first time in a while that I was the only westerner in the crowd. But, this time it was different. I was part of the crowd, just another worker heading back from lunch.

You may say, “Of course – this is real, you’ve been writing about it for the last year. If you’re not living and working in China, where are you?” and that would be a fair question. I can answer it this way. When I was teaching it was temporary – for the first time yesterday it felt permanent and I was okay with that.

It seems fitting that this moment of illumination occurred almost exactly one year to the day after I first arrived in China. The last year, as detailed in my blog, has been wonderful – full of friends, food, adventures, language, stretching and growing. As I contemplated my anniversary post I thought of lots of possibilities. Top 10 moments in Shanghai, best restaurants here, places to visit, things never to say as a foreigner; but instead of looking back, I’ve decided that I’d like to look forward. Here are my goals for the next year:

1) Get comfortable enough with my Chinese to give a short speech at an internal work meeting.
2) Ride the bus in Shanghai.
3) Learn how to cook one traditional Chinese dish well.
4) Visit one smaller Chinese city (less than a million people); travel to Hong Kong for pleasure (not business).
5) Develop a KTV (karaoke) repertoire of more than two Chinese songs.
6) Buy a bicycle.

Happy Anniversary to the blog and to me!

Questions – Do you have any goals that you think I should add to the list? Please share.

Cheers!
G