The last year and a half in a nutshell

Hello everyone! I realize saying that I haven't updated my blog in awhile is a bit of an understatement. Nor is it worth summing up the last year and a half in a single blog entry...who has time for that? So in a nutshell, here are highlights:

• August 2010 - Moved out of Spain indefinitely after three wonderful years. Spent three weeks in Chicago with my family.
• September - Packed my bags and left Chicago again, this time to Shanghai, China. Met my best friend in Shanghai on the bus ride to the hotel, a girl from Richmond, VA named Beth. Moved into an apartment with roommates from all over the world. Within a year of my living there, I had lived with at least 10 people from eight different countries.
• October - My maternal grandfather passed away in the Philippines, coinciding with National Holiday with China (he always had impeccable timing), which allowed me to attend his funeral. Found out loads about the Chinese side of my family. Amy Tan, eat your heart out!
• November - honeymoon phase with Shanghai came to an abrupt end. Went through unexpected culture shock and homesickness. Visited the old Chinese capital of Nanjing.
• December/January 2011 - Spent holidays with good friends, fellow expats living in Shanghai. Had an amazing Christmas turkey dinner and spent New Year with my good friend Beth and her cousin.
• February - CHINESE NEW YEAR! Stayed in Shanghai, but had an amazing time! Never in my life had seen (or heard) so many fireworks, practically leaking from every open orifice in the city at one point. Put my previous fireworks extravaganza, Las Fallas in Valencia, to shame.
• March - My 30th birthday. Never in my life had I planned to turn 30 in China, but as is life! Visited the city of Hangzhou for the first time. Upon returning to Shanghai, I was treated to the most unexpected surprise: all my friends gathered in my one of my favorite restaurants to wish me a happy birthday. It was the best gift I could have possibly thought of.
• April - Visited Singapore, my first trip outside of China since I went to the Philippines. Stayed with an old friend I met in Spain, and ran into some even older friends there. Small world.
• May - Mom's first visit to (mainland) China! Aside from Shanghai, we visited Hangzhou and Xiamen, the latter in which we had ancestral roots. Stayed on Gulangyu Island. Hearing mom speaking the local dialect was a linguistic and cultural delight.
• June - Went back to Hangzhou and also visited Yellow Mountain (Huangshan) from a friend from work. Beautiful place! My good friend Cristina visited from Spain. Our friendship had come full circle: exactly two years previous it was I who visited her when she lived in Shanghai. She still speaks better Chinese than I do, but I plan to surpass her one of these days... ;). Attended my first Chinese wedding, with Cristina as my guest. Interesting cultural experience...
• July/August - Summer course began at work and lasted through the end of August. not.fun.at.all. Couchsurfers from Barcelona whom I met through a friend from Chicago came and was able to speak in Catalan for the first time in a long time.
• September - Renewed contract with work, only to nearly reconsider having done so a few weeks later. Found a new studio apartment in a traditional Shanghainese compound (longtang), with which I have a love-hate relationship.
• October - National Holiday. Traveled with friends through Wuyuan, Jiangxi Province. Highlights: got kicked out of an idyllic village, witnessed a fistfight between an old woman and a tour guide, and tried snake-infused liquor. 'twas an amazing experience. Friends from Madrid came to visit for Halloween week. An intense week of touring and partying that began and ended at my favorite bar in Shanghai, C's Bar.
• November - Through Facebook, ran into an old high school friend in Shanghai for business. Visited Xiamen for the second time and toured the area with my aunt and a friend of hers. Visited a Fujian Tulou, traditional Hakka villages protected as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

And there you have it. My life from the previous year summed up in a readable blog entry. Hopefully not too much time passes before I add my next blog. Till then, zaijian!

J