One Week!

Today was a good day. After what seems like weeks of being caught up in a whirlwind of constant studying and work, I am finally getting a chance to take a break and reflect back on the past 4 years of my life. Part of this has to do with today being my last day of classes as an undergraduate and University California at Irvine and part has to do with my upcoming adventure to Beijing!

I can't believe it is only a week away! Even now as I write this, it still does not quite feel real yet.  I can't decide if it is a good or a bad thing that I have been so preoccupied with schoolwork that I haven't really gotten a chance to think to hard about where I am going and what I will be doing. I guess in a way maybe I am happy that I haven't been too consumed with thoughts of China just yet, only because it leaves open an endless sea of possibilities. Everything in my mind is proceeded with an 'I wonder if in china..?' and quickly followed by an ecstatic 'Ohh I don't know?!..Guess I'll just have to find out!' For example,even the most mundane and simplist of questions like 'I wonder if in China people like to nod and say hello on the street even if you are a stranger? Or is Beijing far too big of a city for that type of intimate informalities?' have been tap dancing around in the back of my mind.

And then there is the overwhelmingly large question mark over the details of my internship at China Renmin University Press! I have never before held a position in an office style working environment, let alone one in Beijing. I feel so lucky to have this unique opportunity to catch a glimpse into the dynamics and inner workings of a Chinese company. With the Chinese's government's tendency of selective cencorship and enforcement of tighter controls over the media, it is somewhat difficult to gain an accurate picture of what life in China is really like. That in and of itself makes it even more exciting for me to have this chance of finding out for myself. I do fear that my lack of experience in the working world will make it a little more difficult to compare and contrast my new working environment to one that I'd face while working within the U.S. But, you have to start somewhere and what better place than one of the most historically rich and fascinating capitals in the world!

As idealistic as it might sound,I couldn't feel more full of optimism and excitement over this amazing new journey that I am about to embark on.I just can't help but feel that no matter what issues arise or oddities that are thrown my way, I can only face them head on with a smile. I am choosing to go into this internship with the mentality that it will be great and that the lessons that I am about to learn will come to be an invaluable part of my being.

After living in Taipei, Taiwan for 10 months during my junior year of college, I know that life away from home and the comforts of the U.S. can be challenging sometimes. But, the thing I like to keep in mind is that everything that happens is an experience and from each experience there is always something to be learned. I can't wait to see how my American lifestyle meshes into the Beijing lifestyle. My goal is to make myself as open to as many things as I most possibly can. I want to try new things. Meet new people. Travel to unseen places. I want to stumble down that off the track alley way and explore. Even though I do attribute a lot of my personal growth and sense of self- independence to the time I spent studying in Taiwan, I know that my experiences in China will be different and just as enriching...if not even more!

Unlike my life in Taiwan, where I lived in a dorm and spent most of my days in the classroom drilling Chinese with other American exchange students,I will be living with a local Beijing family and going to work everyday in China. So far I have only shared a couple of e-mails and an occasional smattering of brief phone calls with the Shuling, the Chinese woman who has so graciously offered to host me. But from what I can tell she seems to be absolutely charming and genuine. Her excitement over me coming was instantly contagious and as I hung up the phone I felt as though a flurry of butterflies were energetically beating against my heart. This is the type of nervous excitement I live off of! And on that note, I am going to end my first blog entry with a quote that I recently came across. I am somewhat embarrased to say I never found out who the quote came from, but nonetheless the message is still worth hearing : "Life is not about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself."

Here's a video I made a week before my flight to Beijing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQU4gQCpHYI

To do: Create my new Beijing lifestyle...status: impending :)