I believe I may have had writer's block. Actually I haven't, but I have been so unbelievably busy in the last year that I have not made time to write. I have been experiencing every nook and cranny of this bizarre, crowded and insane place called China - The Middle Kingdom as it was once known. I have triumphantly ended the year on a high note - NOT. I have been in a cast for the last six weeks after slipping and breaking an ankle. Yet, I digress because no matter what happened at the end of the year, I still made it through the first successful year of teaching English in China.
Last September I had the joy of climbing the Great Wall of China. Yes, it was insanely hot and crowded, but it was the experience that counted. Walking that wall with Chinese so close you could feel them breathing down your neck was all part of the experience. In October, I went to see Hong Kong for the first time and viewed a spectacular laser light show set against the backdrop of the towering highrises of Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong was unforgetable in that I walked into a mob of protesters in downtown Kowloon, who were protesting their right to independence that the Chinese had promised them when HK was ruled by the British.
Lunar New Year was quite a time to be in China. I went to visit Shanghai for the first time and what a mix of old and new Shanghai turned out to be. From the modern Pudong skyline to the historic bund. I visited friends who lived in Shanghai and we bought a box of fireworks to light up the night sky. I have never in my life seen so many fireworks all lit off at one time. A memory I won't soon forget. My hearing is still intact surprisingly.
I have had the thrill of visiting the Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven in Bejing. Only places I have read about in history books. I never really imagined I'd be able to do and see everything I have seen in just one year.
I will be back for another year in China and plan on writing about my experiences as they come. I go back to Canada for a visit in a few days. A place I call home. I never thought I'd be in China for more than a year, but then again there is so much more to explore. Stay tuned for more of Jo's adventures in China.
