a lot has happened since my last blog post, including three separate trips to beijing, nanjing, and guangxi province, numerous parties, new friends, bike trips, and many other adventures. however the biggest news has to be my leaving china mid-december - i am currently back home in canada, nursing a tea and warming my toes. the boyfriend and i were more than happy to finish up our teaching jobs in hangzhou, and being here for christmas and new years has been a wonderful gift. we are getting ready to leave in about a week from now, bound for australia! we will be settling in melbourne, doing grown up things like having real jobs, paying taxes, and hunting down an apartment. scary, but i'm excited. i'm ready to explore a new country and all that comes with it.
i made some resolutions this year, the usual of course being to lose 15 lbs, but i've also vowed to learn a new skill every month, be it baking bread or snowshoeing (the latter of which i will actually do tomorrow!). i want this year to be fresh, full of promise and new experiences. when i left for china around this time last year, i had a list of things i wanted to accomplish in my time there, and i'm happy to say that i crossed most of them off. this year is the same. i want to be in a pipe band again, to volunteer in my community, to find a job that i truly love.. i want to take a course on web design, be a loving, considerate friend and girlfriend, and put 100% into anything i do. hopefully, that also includes this blog. i want to learn to cook a leg of lamb and catch a fish, i want to take lots of photos and do lots of cycling, be strong and smart and fearless. so here i go.
