End of August marked 2 years for my blog - 2 years, almost 70 posts, so many memories captured forever! To be honest, I surprised myself a bit - I guess somewhere deep down, I really didn't believe I would keep going so long! Of course, there have been times when I have had to almost force myself to get a particular post out, so many days of staring blankly at the screen with no inspiration whatsoever - but somehow, always kept going, and now 2 years!! My plans for any project are always grandiose, over-the-top - I never was one for small measures - so it's really funny to think about the days when I actually started writing - I was sure I would be cranking out the posts, planning my 100th post when I had barely written 5!! Today, a little humbled, I'm grateful for the 70 odd I have written, happy that I am able to manage at least 3 a month - the 100th will come, and I'm in no hurry to get there!!
2 years of the blog - 2 years of living in China! August is also our China anniversary, and while I firmly believe that home is wherever you're living at that particular time - this year coming back 'home' to China was really, really hard! Part of it was being in the US over the summer - a stark contrast to our life here in China, and a reminder of the life we have given up! The blue skies, the clean air especially make me really, really want to move back - like, right away! In addition, 2 of our friends decided to move back over the summer - looking at you, MT and DH! - and although, friends moving away is a part of this whole expat life, this time it cut just a little too close to the bone! I came back to Suzhou dragging my feet, totally depressed - and for the next 10 days, I was happy to surrender to jet lag with Manasi - falling asleep at 4 in the afternoon, then waking up at 2 am to bowls of cereal and cheesy Hindi soaps on TV - Manasi thought it was the best time ever!!
Trying to shake it off, I signed on for a bunch of things - a bit impulsively, maybe? But being busy helps, or so everyone says!! So this year, I'm officially on the committee for Friends of Dulwich (FoD), and the parent rep for Manasi's class - both these translate into a lot of meetings! Seriously, in the 3 weeks since school has started, I have been in school almost every single day!! Not to mention the flood of emails - it's like going back to work, except that I don't get paid!! Socially, too, the plan is to make the extra effort to mingle - so more parties, busier weekends! We've also joined the Euchre club - a social evening, playing cards - first time tonight, fingers crossed!! Not finished yet - I've also joined the neighborhood book club - and that is another first! As much as I love reading, I'm not sure how much I will like talking about the chosen book - so again, fingers crossed!!
Speaking of books, my book blog - despite my best intentions, that one is straggling a bit, it's almost become my step-blog! I'm always so eager to finish the book I'm reading, and then move onto the next one - more complicated, if like I usually do, I have at least 3 books going at the same time! It's so difficult to slow down, take the time to write about a book I've enjoyed - so little time, so many books!! In any case, I'm not ready to give up on that one yet - and it's my promise to myself to be a little more diligent, and hopefully 1 day writing about a book will be as natural as picking the next one to read! And if I can inspire or interest even a single person to pick up one of my favorites, well, that's reward enough!!
I feel like on this 2 year anniversary, I should make some kind of resolution about writing more, writing better - but I know I'm still join to keep going at my snail's pace, so I won't even bother making the resolutions! One thing I do hope to change, though - well, not so much change as enhance - this blog started off as a journal for our years in China, but as I look back upon some of my recent posts, the blog seems to be turning into a travel blog, and that was never the intention. So I will be making an effort to write more about our daily, every day life rather than only the big events - like today, I joined a couple of friends to go look for an Indian restaurant somewhere in Old Town - rumor had it that this place had everything for under 10 RMB! We did find it - a total hole-in-the-wall kind of place, no decor to speak of, not even a sign outside! But the food was decent, and it was only 60 RMB for all 3 of us - that would be the cost of 3 naans in any other Indian restaurant in Suzhou!! There it is - that's exactly the daily stuff I want to write about!!
At the end of the day, a blog is nothing without its readers. So for all of you who have been reading along, for all the words of encouragement, for all the FB likes - a big, big THANK YOU!! I hope you will stick around for more!! Just a few days ago, Manasi asked me how long I would keep writing the blog - I had to think a minute about that, but the answer was so very easy - why would I ever stop?! Until later, then! Signing off!!
2 years of the blog - 2 years of living in China! August is also our China anniversary, and while I firmly believe that home is wherever you're living at that particular time - this year coming back 'home' to China was really, really hard! Part of it was being in the US over the summer - a stark contrast to our life here in China, and a reminder of the life we have given up! The blue skies, the clean air especially make me really, really want to move back - like, right away! In addition, 2 of our friends decided to move back over the summer - looking at you, MT and DH! - and although, friends moving away is a part of this whole expat life, this time it cut just a little too close to the bone! I came back to Suzhou dragging my feet, totally depressed - and for the next 10 days, I was happy to surrender to jet lag with Manasi - falling asleep at 4 in the afternoon, then waking up at 2 am to bowls of cereal and cheesy Hindi soaps on TV - Manasi thought it was the best time ever!!
Trying to shake it off, I signed on for a bunch of things - a bit impulsively, maybe? But being busy helps, or so everyone says!! So this year, I'm officially on the committee for Friends of Dulwich (FoD), and the parent rep for Manasi's class - both these translate into a lot of meetings! Seriously, in the 3 weeks since school has started, I have been in school almost every single day!! Not to mention the flood of emails - it's like going back to work, except that I don't get paid!! Socially, too, the plan is to make the extra effort to mingle - so more parties, busier weekends! We've also joined the Euchre club - a social evening, playing cards - first time tonight, fingers crossed!! Not finished yet - I've also joined the neighborhood book club - and that is another first! As much as I love reading, I'm not sure how much I will like talking about the chosen book - so again, fingers crossed!!
Speaking of books, my book blog - despite my best intentions, that one is straggling a bit, it's almost become my step-blog! I'm always so eager to finish the book I'm reading, and then move onto the next one - more complicated, if like I usually do, I have at least 3 books going at the same time! It's so difficult to slow down, take the time to write about a book I've enjoyed - so little time, so many books!! In any case, I'm not ready to give up on that one yet - and it's my promise to myself to be a little more diligent, and hopefully 1 day writing about a book will be as natural as picking the next one to read! And if I can inspire or interest even a single person to pick up one of my favorites, well, that's reward enough!!
I feel like on this 2 year anniversary, I should make some kind of resolution about writing more, writing better - but I know I'm still join to keep going at my snail's pace, so I won't even bother making the resolutions! One thing I do hope to change, though - well, not so much change as enhance - this blog started off as a journal for our years in China, but as I look back upon some of my recent posts, the blog seems to be turning into a travel blog, and that was never the intention. So I will be making an effort to write more about our daily, every day life rather than only the big events - like today, I joined a couple of friends to go look for an Indian restaurant somewhere in Old Town - rumor had it that this place had everything for under 10 RMB! We did find it - a total hole-in-the-wall kind of place, no decor to speak of, not even a sign outside! But the food was decent, and it was only 60 RMB for all 3 of us - that would be the cost of 3 naans in any other Indian restaurant in Suzhou!! There it is - that's exactly the daily stuff I want to write about!!
At the end of the day, a blog is nothing without its readers. So for all of you who have been reading along, for all the words of encouragement, for all the FB likes - a big, big THANK YOU!! I hope you will stick around for more!! Just a few days ago, Manasi asked me how long I would keep writing the blog - I had to think a minute about that, but the answer was so very easy - why would I ever stop?! Until later, then! Signing off!!
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