Recently I’ve written several drafts on cross-cultural life for my ‘work’ blog that are more personal in nature, more emotional in style. I think the decision to make writing my outlet again somehow overflowed naturally.
How do I create forward momentum in my life when that provokes physical pain? I don’t know who I am, so I want to do something, but doing makes me sore, and pain stops me doing, which I feel emotional about because who am I if I can’t do anything?? It’s such a vicious cycle.
I’m settling into a new place, a new routine, a new identity – and chronic pain is in the forefront again. I feel the limitations of my body constraining me near constantly. It is frustrating. So very frustrating.
Blogging is a discipline that reminds me to connect – to look around, to notice, to appreciate. To focus on small details. To tell small stories about real life. I used to write those sorts of small stories about my life in China. I think it’s time to start telling them again.
I’ve spent over three years working on a book about Third Culture Kids – and it is finally being released on August 15th!! Misunderstood: The Impact of Growing Up Overseas in the 21st Century will be available on Amazon (paperback and Kindle) as well as other ebook formats, and I will also be selling paperbacks in person.
I cooked a feast of “normal” home cooking style food. This is comfort food for me – the flavours of local Beijing. There was something so special about sharing the taste of home with the people who are my new home. I felt homesick and at home all at once. It’s been a good day.
This post will explain different ways I have organised years’ worth of stories on my blog. You can read up on a particular category (Chinese Festivals, language, transition…) or a particular location (China, Cambodia, Australia…) or see what posts have been the most popular overall.
My month in the US ended with an evening flight on Christmas Day. My family were all catching up after Christmas anyway, so I got to celebrate Christmas TWICE – on two different continents.
I saw quite a few friends in San Diego, mostly people I had known in Beijing, but also an Australian friend who lives in Mexico. I especially enjoyed the view from Fletcher Cove Park – the Pacific Ocean, albeit the wrong side.
I had only one day in San Francisco, but my friends helped me pack a lot in! Particularly special was a visit to the Napa Valley and the winery my friend works at. It is a beautiful area, and the wines we tasted were lovely, too. The most special thing of all, though, was spending time with great friends I hadn’t seen in so long.
I had a lovely time in Seattle, Washington. It was an amazing whirlwind of visiting with friends from all my years in Beijing. I also saw Gas Works Park, seaplanes, the Space Needle and deer casually sauntering around a suburban neighbourhood.
A good month before leaving Australia for my US trip I was dreaming of Orlando. I knew that this place would be the rest my soul desperately needed. I spent a week of unhurried days with people who were key figures of my daily life in Beijing. I also spent time birdwatching the wetland wildlife, marvelled at Spanish moss covered trees, and enjoyed a bit of warm weather.
Stories From Tanya 