I’ve been in Beijing for just over a month now and feel like I’m pretty settled in. I still can’t say more than five words in Chinese but there’s always that thought that maybe tomorrow will be the day I make the leap up to to six. I like to aim high.
One thing being here has shown me is how much I love just hanging around and getting a feel for a place. I still haven’t been to the Great Wall, visited Mao’s creepy carcas or checked out the Forbidden City but the beauty of spending so much time here is that there’s no rush. Instead, I’ve been meeting new people, having some debaucherous nights out, exploring the art scene while attemping to get back into painting and, of course, working on my sites.
Being able to unpack, relax and do what I want with each day has done wonders some days for my production and other days for my procrastination but the point is that I never feel like I should be doing something because there’s plenty of time for everything. I might not be saying this in three months when I haven’t seen a thing and haven’t done any work but for the moment, it feels great!
Travelling slowly is something I’ve always tried to do and have combined it in the past with working abroad. This time around my work is portable and renting apartments in cool cities around the world is how I see myself spendng the next few years. I’m heading to Australia in February 2009 for a wedding and think I’ll get an apartment and hang out in Sydney or Brisbane for a few months at least. I can use that as motivation to get my earnings up since Australia is a lot more expensive that Asia. I keep hearing that Buenos Aires is a great city so might do the same there and attempt to learn Spainish… hopefully more successfully than my attempt at Chinese!
After that, who knows but I’ll be keeping a lookout for cities of interest. I’ve always wanted to spend some time living in New York City but I think I’ll need a bit more in the bank before I can afford one of those closet apartments in Manhatten.
If anyone can recommend any cities you’ve loved living in (or even just dream of living in) let me know!
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