First post! (?) This one comes from Canada. I’ve yet to actually go to Korea but I think we should start off with a bit of a back-story with this so that the narrative will unfold as we go along. So here it is. A bit of my travel story. Up until now.
It’s been a few years since I’ve wanted to go to Asia—China, specifically. Since I was thirteen, actually. And this might sound lame but it’s the truth—I’ve wanted to go ever since I saw the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Now I know what you’re thinking: ‘you’re basing this decision to go off of some blockbuster movie you saw. When you were 12.’ Yes. That is correct—That and an amazing fascination with the cultures of far-east Asia. I grew up with Chinese friends. I ate Japanese from the age of 7. I took the time (as a child) to read up on philosophy and history; everything from Confucius thought to the Han dynasty. This isn’t really something I shared with everyone nor was it pastime of mine. Just something I did informally but that has also been a constant for the past decade of my life.
Anyway, where was I? …Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Ok but seriously… have you seen this movie? And if you have, were you bored? If so, you should watch it again—not only because the fight sequences are pretty bad-ass but more so for the beautiful landscapes of rural China that the movie does such an amazing job of showcasing. Seriously, I bet ‘Tourism China’ was in on the making of the film—it’d be hard not too want to plan a trip to China after watching it. And so since then I’d just always assumed that I’d be traveling to China later on in life.
Fast-forward to my third-year of university. After having completed a teacher training in yoga I discover that there are amazing teaching opportunities in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Beijing and I’m extremely excited about this. They fly you out, they house you and offer you competitive wages; it all worked so perfectly! And to Asia! Much to my character, I plan the 2 years following university: I’ll travel to Europe right after graduation, Trinidad until the end of 2009 and then China from January 2010 to the following year. Perhaps I would travel around Asia a little more after that and then come home in the spring of 2011. Perfect…
…Until I actually started looking into teaching yoga and contacting the people over there. First off, I could rule out Kuala Lumpur and Singapore because, well, I really just didn’t want to go there. I wanted to wander around rural China on my weekend, which would be hard from Malaysia so, Beijing it is. Then there was the issue with going to Beijing: From what I’ve heard, Beijing isn’t the nicest city to live in. I’d much rather live in the thriving metropolis that is Shanghai. Ahhh Shanghai! Where do I begin with Shanghai? The things of heard, the things I’ve researched, the areas of the city I want to visit and/or live in… The things I want to eat! I need an entire post to describe my love for Shanghai to all of you—and I’ll probably do that later.
Ah tangents! Ok so I’d be living in Beijing. Big deal. I’m sure I can suck it up. It’s China. It’s near the Great Wall. It’s closer to the Wudang Mountains, which are really the reason I was going to China. It’s close enough to Shanghai that I could visit. Anyway—I’m sure I’d love Beijing. So I contact the people in China. They don’t sound to eager. And I don’t know… I just don’t pursue. I wasn’t really feeling it, you know? It didn’t seem like the thing that I was going to do in Asia—teach yoga…
We’re talking around August 2009 when all this job searching was going down in preperation for a January departure… After a very-quickly upcoming trip to Europe and three months in Trinidad until the end of the year. Well my friends, plan but don’t be to rigid with them because sometimes life happens. And I don’t mean that in a cynical, pessimistic sense but in a sometimes-your-dad-gets-diagnosed-with-cancer-and-you-know-it’s-more-important-to-stay-home-until-he-has-his-surgery-and-is-completely-healed kind of way…
Needless to say, I didn’t go to Trinidad but opted to stay home instead and be with my family during what I knew would be (and has been) a trying time. I probably could have spent my time making life a bit easier for those around me and myself rather than having terrible thoughts of self-worth and “oh why the HELL am I STILL in Richmond Hill?!” but that’s another blog-post. For now, suffice to say that I didn’t go to Trinidad OR Asia of any kind in January. The problem was that now it was January and I still hadn’t contacted anyone about going to work anywhere in Asia. March is SO much closer when it’s January 1st vs. Dec 31st—funny how our perception works, isn’t it? Anyway two weeks go by, it’s now January 15th and I figure I HAVE to get on this Shanghai thing if I’m going to go any time soon and that’s when my whole notion of what I’d be doing, where I’d be going, etc. would change…
