...Let's hope that any of that made sense.
So here we go. I am doing something because the likelihood of me not doing it is very small. So small that it would take a meteor hitting me or my cat strangling me in my sleep for me to not follow through with it.
I have decided to move to China.
See? Now we can resolve that whole "What are you doing?" question and give this answer! Because when I was writing that, I was being barraged with this question since I had already bought my plane ticket and not actually having my visa so that I could actually enter the country (I know, bad planning on my part). You can stop right there with hiking up your judgment pants because I did give myself some time to get my affairs in order and I DID. The psychological burden that lifted due to the fact my visa arrived exactly 7 days before my plane departed was tantamount to when you go to the doctor fearing you have any number of terminal illnesses (BECAUSE WED MD TOLD YOU YOU DID) when you know you don't and then he tells you you're healthier than his many alpaca. That's how I felt. Like a healthy alpaca.
| Such healthy chompers I have. |
I, like many of the children of my generation, am going to teach my native language (English, to some of you snarky bastards) to the children that reside in this country. This apparently is one of those trendy things like owning a ferret or buttoning the top button on your shirt, and who am I to miss out?
For those of you thinking that I do not speak Mandarin, you would be correct--I don't. I know how to say hello and that, at this point, is the extent of my Mandarin. Don't worry, I'm going to invest in a dictionary or 22 and get help from the one person that I actually do know over there.
How will I deal with the children? I've always like to think that I'm not terrible when it comes to dealing with 6 year olds and I'm not going to stop now. If it ever gets to a point where I begin to doubt myself that they will have a teacher...a teacher great and powerful...as the sea...ALL SHALL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR.
*ahem*
Seriously, the only real concern I have working with children is getting their germy hands all over my face. This is also something I'm probably just going to have to come to terms with since if I've learned anything from my niece, the face is a good place to stick your fingers.
Am I going to see the sights? Probably since I'm going to be there for several months, but I've really only planned up to the plane flight over there.
Have I packed everything? Not really since I'm afraid that my bag will be too heavy and that I alone will be responsible for a trans-pacific plane crash because I packed that one extra pair of socks.
One might say I'm under-prepared. I would probably have to agree with that person but not before giving them a stern glare. Part of me wants this because I find some sort of weird romanticism in it, like in some way it will give my mind a really fresh experience with this. One of my best friends is currently living in Tahiti on an LDS mission and before she left we had a long chat about our longing to travel. Part of this entailed a movie quote and, where I can't recall the movie, it went something like this: "I would want nothing more than to wake up in a country where I don't speak the language." Of course, the line was much more magical and romantic, but it left the curiosity on our tongues about what that would actually be like. In the end we decided it would be great to wake up in a new country, but the knowing the language would be nice.
Of course, I don't know the language. I'm accidentally living this line by choosing a place I know very little about. That weird romantic movie part of me is very satisfied with my choice while my rational mind is pacing up and down the hallway of my brain while he considers how many floors it will take to kill him if he jumped.
I can't say I've truly had any kind of serious adventure, but I would like to say that this will count.
| "You should probably learn Mandarin, young hobbit." |
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