I haven’t written for a while because I have been distracted by an upcoming move. My husband and I had been talking about the two potential destinations for months, but our discussions became more serious as summer (and our deadline) neared. Our choices included returning to our home in Seattle or taking a detour for a year or so to Beijing. In the end, we decided on Beijing, which caused a flurry of activity – generally speaking – but paralysis on the blogging front.
Leading up to the decision, our discussions revolved around friends, family, and clean air on the Seattle front, and the opportunity to stay in Asia, learn some Mandarin, and experience a new culture, on the Beijing side. Lifelong sufferers of wanderlust, we felt almost guilty when we dwelled on the negative aspects of moving to China. On the other hand, Beijing’s choking pollution, suspect food quality, and questionable government decisions and policies were something to consider. As someone who spent several years living in the former Soviet Union, I well understood both the drawbacks and excitment of living in a police state.
We agreed to go for twelve months – not long at all really – on the condition we found a spot for our daugher in school. We left last Sunday to visit a number of Beijing’s educational institutions , and by the time we returned to Hong Kong on Tuesday evening, the die was cast. Elisa had been accepted to school and we were – are – moving to Beijing.