Back to Canada

Hey all,

so after 42 days we're leaving Shanghai tomorrow and heading back to Canada. It's been a doozy of a trip with 3 countries and 2 Special Administrative Regions (Macau and Hong Kong), 2 visas, quite a few passport stamps and about a million pictures (okay, that's exaggerating).

A couple of highlights of the trip:

1. Learning Chinese - at first, I had no idea what anybody was saying, basically just smiling and nodding at family gatherings and such. After awhile though, you get the hang of a few basic phrases and learn to recognize some words as well (besides "tai gwai la" and "bu yao" :P). By the time I reached Hong Kong, I was speaking a few phrases in Mandarin instead of Cantonese!

2. Adapting to a new way of thinking - in Canada, the lifestyle is almost naive compared to China and other parts of Southeast Asia. People are looking out for Number One, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but means you have to watch out for yourself (especially in traffic :P).

3. "Roughing" it - Living out of a backpack gets to be almost routine after awhile, and you're grateful for running hot water. It's an adventure trying to figure out where you're staying next that night, as well as how you're going to get to your next destination. It really makes you appreciate the small things and live in the moment.

4. Local expertise - we had family or friends in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Malaysia, and there's a huge difference between being a tourist afloat in a strange city and a tourist being shown all the local spots off the beaten track. For one thing, your friends will never bring you to a jade factory :P ... You experience a different side of the city that you might not have been able to on your own.


All in all, it's been a crazy but super fun couple of months and I can't wait to do it again. Before that happens, I have to find a job and earn a little money... Yi will be heading down to Australia about mid-January to start med school, and I'll be staying in Winnipeg for at least 4-6 months to live with my parents while I look for employment (in any city or continent, but now I'm leaning towards the Asiatic region of the world...). Here's to having a Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

cheers, Ange