The End?

Hello Friends,

It's been awhile. Though I suppose that while we haven't communicated via this fine publication recently, there is a good chance that if you're reading this now, it means we've seen each other face to face in the not-too-distant past. And that's much better, don't you agree?

I can remember when I arrived home last July, my good friend (and fellow blogger http://japan360photo.blogspot.com/) Dan Dooher asked me if I was going to do an "end of the blog" post. It seemed like the thing to do, but every time I sat myself down to try, I just couldn't. The words wouldn't come. And I think a big reason I could never bring myself to end this blog was because that would mean bringing an end to my time in China. And even back then, that was not something that I was prepared to do. I didn't want to end my blog in China because I didn't want my time in China to end either. Absolutely, after two years away from family and friends I was ready to return to the U.S. I have no regrets about that at all, far from it. I needed to come home, I needed to recconnect, and I needed to recharge. There is not a doubt in my mind that I made the right decision. But I also knew back then what I still know today: my time in China is not over. I am not done with China. Not in the least.

I can also remember that being a common question once I was back in the States: "So, you're done with China, huh?" And every time I would think to myself, "Well... no, of course not." It's not a stupid question or anything, it just wasn't at all why I came home. The truth is I'll never be "done" with China. When you spend a considerable amount of time living in a different place, living with a group of people, learning about their culture, becoming a part of their culture, that's not something that will ever end. I could live the rest of my life in America, or Africa, or even Iceland, and still not be done with China. I will never stop thinking about China, I will never stop loving China, and I will never stop living my life in a way that reflects what my time in China has taught me.

So no, I'm not done with China. And that's why I'm going back. :-)