Here I go

OK so, I’m well aware that my attempt to write this blog about my travels lacks any and all originality… but I’m jumping on the bandwagon anyway... if you're not into it, then you should probably get off my blog.  I figure that this is the best way to keep everyone updated about whatever it is that I’m trying "to do with myself" now and in the future.  Plus, let’s be honest, we all know I love the sound of my own voice.

Basically, a few weeks ago, I decided to put off going to law school (see: never) and spend some time travelling, exploring the world, and mainly hoping that at some point, I can find some sort of inspiration for what I want to do in life.  Yeah, yeah, this reeks of cliché, but if I don’t do it now, when will I?  The decision wasn't that out of the blue for anyone that knows me well.. I've been dreading law school (aka sobbing hysterically any time anyone got more than two drinks in me) and I've been thinking about doing this for a few years.  I have had this thirst.. this need to go live in an entirely different part of the world and I think I'll regret it for the rest of my life if I don't do it before I have a ball and chain attached to each of my limbs in the form of a job, familial obligations... and age (ugh). 

I’m getting TESOL certified in September in London, and I’ll hopefully buy my one-way ticket to go to Shanghai in October.  Been sending my resume out to every institution that so much as resembles a school… we’ll see how that works out.  I'm going to try teaching English for a year and see how I like it and reassess after that.  In any case, the certificate is a great, as it is basically an easy way to get a visa into any country these days.

I picked Shanghai because it is somewhere entirely new for me.  I’ve never been farther east than Lebanon, and I so desperately want to see that part of the world.  My dream was to go to India for a year or two to teach, but there's zero demand for English teachers, as 99% of the people speak it.  So after India, I was considering Buenos Aires because I already speak Spanish, but again, I need to be somewhere entirely new... its still the "Western world" and I think I will learn more from being in China.  Plus, learning Chinese would be sick and I think that if all else fails and I find myself in the exact same place (emotionally, mentally, etc) in two years, at least I’ll have some Chinese to add to the languages I know… something to help me when I’m searching for jobs.  And if China actually does take over the world one day, then hey, it couldn’t hurt to know the language.  

Anyway, the countdown is on… about 2 months til I’m going and a lot to do beforehand.  I would really love and appreciate any comments or advice that anyone has for me... general words of inspiration.. or warning. This blog probably wont be exclusively about China… I just thought it would be a good overall theme.  I’m half-idiot when it comes to these things and I am absolutely positive that I will find one way or another to offend someone with this and get it booted off-line.  Here’s hoping that I don’t.