It’s been my dream to work internationally for years.  Finally, after much hard work, I have achieved my dream!  How does that saying go–be careful what you wish for, you might just get it???  I’ve always chased the challenge and embraced the dream because, after all, life is short and I want to die tired with no regrets.  Believe me, after working in China for the next three years, I expect Thom and I will have enough stories to last a lifetime.

Certainly moving to China was not initially on my radar-London was the focus but the path to Europe definitely lies through Asia so I have embraced this challenge and so has Thom.  Travelling this week with my one way ticket though was stark reality that for the next three years, I will live and work in China.  Yes, there will be a few trips home but certainly we will need to find our new reality here.  I definitely could not do this alone, which is true about life in general.  Having Thom here soon to share in the craziness that is Shanghai will make it all seem right.

Yesterday walking for hours on the streets of Shanghai, I saw the tourist side but then wandered into the “local” area where the cooking and shopping and socializing is all done on the sidewalks.  I never felt unsafe but more out of place-people looked at this crazy American lady walking in their neighborhood and probably had a good laugh wandering if I would ever find my way home.  I did eventually but along the way I got a glimpse of how the average Chinese citizen lives and it was just fascinating to see how much more social this culture is than the US where you work all day and then pull into your garage and never see your neighbors, let alone eat with them on the street together.  This seems a happy way to live, surrounded by friends and family.  Would you be happier spending more time like this than inside watching TV or surfing the net?  I hope to find out as Thom & I will connect with his “Guy Tai” group of ex-pats soon and make new friends from around the world.  We also hope many of our friends and family will visit us in Shanghai–we have lots of room and want to share this great experience.