But first a short recap since my last post nearly two years ago:
After my semester in Xi'an, I returned to China during the summer of 2012 for a U.S. State Department sponsored Critical Language Scholarship. I spent two months with roughly 30 other Chinese language scholars (some had only taken a few semesters, while others had taken a few years) in Beijing, China. Two of the most important aspects of our study were living with host families and adhering to a Chinese-only language pledge. Long storty short, I loved my host family, made a bunch of good friends, improved my Chinese way beyond my belief (only to forget it again once I returned to the United States, naturally), got to see Inner Mongolia (内蒙古) and Qingdao (青岛), and was a co-winner for best adherent to the language pledge.
After my CLS summer, I returned to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and completed my undergraduate degree. I managed to graduate in four years with two majors, studying abroad three times, and being very involved-- yay for me! After graduation, I taught short-term courses for middle school children about Chinese Language and Culture and Asian Cooking.
And now to the present: my partner recently was offered a job in Beijing, China to work as a Chemsitry teacher for a joint-venture high school. So he packed up his bags and left for Beijing earlier today. I am still in the United States, looking after the dog and the house until we figure out what to do with it (the dog, luckily, will be making the trip to China) and looking for my own job in Beijing.
I didn't blog during my CLS-summer in Beijing for two main reasons: 1) I didn't want to bother with a VPN to post on my Google-hosted blog (trying to upload photos while I was in Xi'an was one of the most frustrating experiences!) and 2) I was literally exhausted every day when I came home, I don't think I would've had enough energy to be a good blogger. But, I want to make sure I remember my third time in China -- and I hope that this blog serves as some good inspiration, motivation, travelogue, whatever to any who happens to stumble upon it.
**About the title:
海归 hǎi guī refers to someone returning from overseas, most notably for Chinese students returning from studying abroad. The term, however, is also a homophone for 海龟 hǎi guī, which means "sea turtle." This term, "sea turtle," is used within the popular media to refer to those Chinese who return home and are successful back in China. This term is contrasted with the term "seaweed" 海带
The picture illustrates one of many potential problems "sea turtles" face (and why they may become "seaweed") -- having spent time abroad, they have lost out on the opportunities to make valuable connections and sufficient networking within mainland China to land a (good) job.
