First Step: Proving I Don’t Have Leprosy

 I’ve been talking around this for a bit, mentioning my Chinese lessons and alluding to future changes, but with my work visa in the works, now it seems like it’s really happening. I’m going back to China for a few months to teach.

Actually, I’ve been talking about going back for years. Literally years. I’ve looked into it a couple times, but there’s always been a reason to stay. Mostly for wonderful reasons, like I was enjoying my work, or I had a great opportunity here, or I loved being in Brooklyn, or I wanted to be with Harold. But there’s always going to be good reasons to stay, you know?

I’m really looking forward to the new adventure. I’m excited to be traveling again, improving my Chinese, seeing a new city in my second country, and joining a great program to teach ESL, although I’m not really looking forward to being away from Harold for a few months. He’s planning a good long visit this fall, a bit of a delayed honeymoon, but my Harold isn’t exactly a traveler at heart. (If you know Harold, you are giggling at my understatement. If you don’t, well, Harold is someone who really likes his daily routine, and his comfortable chair in the evening, preferably surrounded by his collection of comic books and toys.) For some reason, the idea of heading to a new country where he doesn’t speak the language, or have a job, or any familiarity with the lifestyle, or know any one, just doesn’t appeal to him. Whatever. People can be so strange, the way different people want different things than I do.

There are a lot of annoying logistics to sort out before the full awesomeness kicks in, but when I think about all the things I have in the works, I am so, so excited.