Let's Begin!

The last time I "blogged" was probably in 2009 when I was living in Hunan Province. I blogged for two years straight on the amazing time I had as an English teacher in a rural area of Hunan. I was on a fellowship with my graduate school called the C. J. Huang Fellowship and Exchange Program. When I went there (Ou Yang Yu Experimental Middle School) one of their graduates went to my school in America. It's a great program that's been running for years. I wasn't alone either. Two Stanford University grads from Volunteer in Asia were also there with me. I could talk forever about my time there... but I've already wrote some much about it. One day I'll rewrite it, maybe into a book? Comic strip? Pop-up book?

My Hunan Family

In 2009 I moved to Taiwan because I received a full scholarship to study Chinese at Taiwan Normal University. I was also joined by my dearest love Frank whom I kindly convinced him to drop his life in America and join me in my crazy international adventures. Well, 6 years later I guess I didn't steer him wrong! In Taiwan I struggled studying Chinese because I also had to work a part-time job. My job was cool though! It was an online video game that taught young learners English. And though they struggled to find the market and the right way to advertise I felt this game could have been (and maybe still will be) very successful. After a year of study I taught English in an online platform to adults. That was a lot of fun! However, I kept thinking about Hunan... and how much I missed China.

Frank pointing to Bei Danshui, our home.

By the summer of 2011 I completed my Masters degree in International Studies. I basically spent my time in Taiwan finishing up my degree online (lots of emails to professors and online courses!). My thesis was on the Next Leader of Tibet. I could also go deeply into that, but I wont. Back to my yearnings of wanting to go back to China: I wanted Frank to experience the same lovely experience I had in Hunan. So, I found us the next suitable job and off we went in August 2011. This particular job placed us in Tianjin (near Beijing). We liked the city, not the temperature, and the job itself well wasn't great, though rewarding at times, management of the entire company was lacking. China is different in the big cities and I noticed that immediately, maybe Hunan was a special place? We took a chance and transferred south hoping for a better outcome. I always loved Guangzhou when I used to travel there from Hunan, and of course the temperature is much warmer.  We stayed in GZ a little over a year, but after we received our CELTA certification we decided it was time to see other parts of the world.

The view from our apartment in Guangzhou

I became a bit of a China expert after being there for 6 years. I knew the language (I mean I knew how to survive!), culture, history, food, political system, economic system, and on and on. I knew everything! So, it was time to explore a new place. Enter Malaysia!

Malaysia's beauty

We live in an area of Malaysia that's exceptionally beautiful and remote. The fresh air and kind people really made us feel "healed" I guess you can say. After years of pollution and the Chinese society jostling you about, a good cleansing began. The job that we have is fantastic and we get the opportunity to travel a lot.  Our most recent travels were to Japan!

King Kaku Temple (Golden Pavilion), Kyoto, Japan 2014

I know I will write more about what I see and feel here in Malaysia. One of the biggest topics I pay a lot of attention to is nutrition. I've been on a journey to lose weight and maintain a good healthy way of life. So, sometimes I noticed things that I feel need to be addressed or I have questions about. Thus, I will write about here!!! Hopefully I won't get too busy!