Preparing for Takeoff

Finally the blog is up and running!! Hope you guys like it, and I'm open to suggestions on the layout if you have any :)

As I prepare to begin a new chapter in my life, I'm feeling nervous. It's the day before I leave to move to China for 3 months! Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely excited. To be so young and have such amazing opportunities ahead of me, saying I'm a lucky girl is an understatement.

With that being said, I'm still a ball of nerves! First of all, I've never been to China, or Asia for that matter. Some might argue that my time in Europe suffices as experience, but I think it's obvious that France and China are very different. And when I was in France, I was a student. Now, I have much more responsibility. This is my chance to prove to the world, and myself, what I'm capable of. No pressure, right?!

Now moving onto the cultural differences.
If you knew that you were living in a place for three months where toilet paper nor soap is provided in public restrooms, wouldn't you be a little nervous too??
There's also this little delicacy in Weihai known as the sea cucumber. I won't knock it 'til I've tried it, but I made the mistake of doing some research and came across quite a few "educational" video clips on this sea cucumber. Much to my surprise, it isn't a cucumber at all. If you'd like to know what it is, YouTube 'sea cucumber', and you'll quickly find out.

And finally, the usual predicament I get myself into: overpacking. How do you take everything you think you may need for three months and NOT overpack? I definitely have not mastered the art yet. I'm dreading plopping my suitcases down on the scale at the checkout desk. I can hear the check-in agent already: "Ma'am, that'll be a thousand dollars in overweight charges."
And we all know how much I love to shop. I don't even want to think about how much more stuff I'll be bringing home and where on earth I'm going to pack it. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.


So, after two VERY long days of packing overpacking and cleaning, I am exhausted. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 5 pm to Los Angeles where we'll have a 6 hour layover. I think that'll be a good time for post #2.

Until then,

Zaì Jiàn
再见