What began 3 years ago as a short break from working non-stop to going to a foreign country for study has now become a lifelong journey it seems.

Little did I ever imagine when I decided to leave behind my comfortable lifestyle and career in San Diego to go to the capital of China to learn the language of my ancestors did I have any inkling of how long this short journey would become.

 Almost 3 years ago, I acted upon a strong desire to go out into the world and test myself against unknown challenges. During that time i considered many places within the my country the United States, but none felt as alluring and challenging as when I visited China with my mother earlier that year...

During that trip I witnessed a China that was significantly different than when I first visited back in the early 1990's. From a country whose people boggled at the video camcorder we had with us to a Tiananmen brimming with bicycles. The China that I had now seen was vastly different from before, now Tiananmen brims with cars and its people with cell phones that puts America back in the 1990's.

What I witnessed was the dramatic clash of ancient versus new, the cultural versus the vain, especially in Beijing. This chaos proved deeply alluring to me. A close second choice was Shanghai of course, with its hip mix of foreign architecture left behind by occupations from other nations to it's intoxicating international metropolis feel and its city quarter brimming with other foreigners, like me. However, the reason that China appealed to me so was its deep and ancient history which Shanghai pales in comparison to, compared to Beijing.

So I consulted with my family and friends, with some support and some oppositions, I packed my life into boxes and embarked on this new adventure.

 Almost three years later, I once again have packed my life into boxes, and again with nearly equal support and as much opposition I once again am embarking on my return adventure back to the United States.

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