The big move

So it's finally come around and we're moving to China. Only for a year but the process seems to be the same as going for 3 or 5 years.

It still seems a bit unreal to be leaving Sydney and Australia to go somewhere else. I remember moving to Paris and when we arrived, not really comprehending that we were there to live. Then moving back was the same, I couldn't really get my head around the fact that we were going to stay there (here really) for good.

Still, having uprooted myself a few times now, it isn't totally incomprehensible to be moving. I think that this will be quite an experience, Beijing is not for the faint of heart people say, and it is certainly very different to anywhere else I've lived. Still, we have jobs, housing and people we know who speak our language as well as the capacity to learn more. There is no doubt that this will be a life-changing experience (as all experiences are I guess) and the only thing to do now is to get the most out of it possible, both personally and professionally. People don't get these sorts of chances all the time so I'm obliged to enjoy it while I can :)

Leaving Australia is bittersweet though, I love living here, I love the lifestyle and at least a few of the people. You know who you are.

So sitting here in my parents' back room, looking out over the golf course and listening to the cockatoos ripping up the grass on the greens (who'd be a golfer?), I have mixed emotions. I know I should enjoy it and I know I will enjoy it once we get going, but for now I think I can be a little sad about leaving my friends and family to live somewhere completely different.

As far as Jane goes, I think she will have it harder than me really, with the food thing partly, but also being an asian person in an asian country, she will be expected to know what's happening and how to proceed. I think I will get a lot more leeway from the locals. Hopefully it will be ok. I know traveling can be a really isolating process, at least for people like me who don't make friends quickly. Jane is much better at that than me but who knows.

Anyway, it is my plan to keep this blog going, and also that no one is really going to read it so I can say whatever I want :)