Well, here it is. The one week mark. Only seven days until I head back to China and life as (un)usual. It’s been an experience being back in Canada and has really given me some perspective about life in general.
Yeah, yeah, I know. No need to get all metaphysical and crap, but to be honest I’ve just too much time on my hands not to. With all major visitations out of the way (mom, dad, sisters, close friends, wedding, etc.), I basically spend my days wandering around my mom’s yard trying to weigh in which order I should do things – eat, swim, play video games or… perhaps I should swim last so I don’t have to actually dry myself and I can save energy just by drying in the sun, but then maybe I should eat last and work up an appetite…. life, my friends, is tough.
But all that ends in seven days. I head back to an apartment that shortly before I left had a pipe burst. It is, as of now, still yet to be fixed. Which means no water, no shower, no toilet. My landlord’s motivation is low because we’ve given notice that we’ll not be staying on for the next 6 months as first assumed.
That’s right boys and girls – the humanaught is moving his show to Suzhou. The teas are dotted and the eyes are crossed. I’ve got a pretty great teaching job lined up there, and to be honest, it’s just time for a change. I’ve been in Dalian my whole time in China, and have explored the North East as much as I really need to for now.
The move to Suzhou brings with it all sorts of perks outside of what the new job is offering me (more money, paid holidays, etc.). Namely, it is 50 minutes away from Shanghai, making any official crap I’ll have to deal with (read: getting married and getting visas) a bit easier. Suzhou is another city built on tourism, so I’m expecting lots of hype about that from the residents. I’m wondering what the offical line is in Suzhou?
The city should also offer Maggie a lot more opportunity when it comes to getting a job as a yoga instructor. And it’s central, so going to HK, Yunnan, Sichuan, Xi’an and a number of other places wont seem like the monster trek that they are from up in Liaoning province.
It’s going to be a bit strange moving this blog to a new city. Thanks to the endorsements of my Dalian buddies Dezza over at Mask of China and Rick at Panda Passport, as well as a number of others in the China blogsphere, this little site has grown to a readership much larger than I ever imagined. Just last September I was tripping over the fact that I was getting about 1,500 visitors a month and now I’m averaging damn near 10,000. Blows my frigin’ mind.
Hopefully many of you will come with me as I make my move and open the next chapter of The Adventures of the Humanaught. More travel (Thailand, Yunnan, Vietnam, and Cambodia are all in the not so distant future), more life (marriage plans, figuring out whether I should stay longer in China or move back to Canada, etc.), and just general commentary on the everyday crap that IS living in China.
