The Knight upon arrival....

Walking ten thousand miles of the world is better than reading ten thousand scrolls. Chinese Proverb

I have read many many tomes on China the history and philosophy, medical science and ideology. Last week began a journey. Not of mind, but of body. I made it to Shanghai airport on what turned out to be one of the most comfortable airplane rides I have ever been on. I had the entire row to myself. My ride from Texas to LA was horrible in comparison, though the 14 hours in the air did dampen the spirit a bit. :) When I arrived customs was not even 15 minutes of standing in line. Things are CONSIDERABLY organized. The driver and one of the instructors picked me up and so the adventure began.... to find the car. They forgot where it was parked. As I was carrying around a 150 pounds of gear this made for some interesting moments. We finally get the car and head into the fog of Shanghai....

Time to see the lights... the skyscrapers of one of the largest cities in the world... Did I mention fog. There was a fog that was thick enough you could feel it crawl over you, as you only can in a port city. So time for a new adventure getting out of Shanghai. Not because of the fog thought that did not help us at all. We stopped to ask directions at least 7 or 8 times.Stopping on the highway and flagging down cars... I was so out of it I fell asleep. Until the arguing began....

We had made it to Kunshan. :) The adventure continues as the search for my apartment was in full force. Several angry phone calls, a few pointed discussions, and a couple of hours later the driver, who does not speak a word of English, "Stone" that spoke very little herself managed to find my new domicile. I have a great apartment it is really spacious. So far no roommate to deal with. The roommate I was supposed to have did leave me a lot to clean out but that is another story... If you want to Google my location use the following "Chao Yang Xi Cun loc: Kunshan".

Kunshan is a very metropolitan place, everyone even the elderly dress more trendy than you see in Austin, Texas. I am in so much trouble they have entire street here dedicated to metal working. And every corner is a new flea market. For those that know me this is going to be a problem. And I would have given my eyeteeth to have access to the sort of metal scraps and tools for sale on a few city blocks here for my workshop back home.

Food is wonderful though I have to admit to having more than my fair share of spicy chicken sandwich meals at the 24 hour local KFC. The chains like that have point menus and my language skills are not at a place yet to easily pantomime through a discussion of what I want, how much, and what does it cost? Working on it. Language study is ensuing but so far things like "hello", "goodbye", "that is a dog","Look at the large group of people running" are just not skills that are helping me on the streets yet. :)

To the point. I am here. I am alive. The job seems simple enough. I miss my family and friends with the acuity of pain that I have not felt before. Alone is a frame of mind, not a state of being. I know I am not alone and many worked hard and sacrificed much so I could pursue this. For this I am very grateful, and excited to have so many supporting me in my dreams from my childhood. I cannot ignore though that this comes at a cost, a severe loss of being next to my soulmate with whom I have gone through so much of my life with. My family Shawn and Lorna, not a moment goes by as I traveled the streets of Kunshan, walked the rivers and streams and investigated the hordes of stores of every kind imaginable, not a second without the burden of that loss weighing on my mind. I can only hope to find a success that can make this sacrifice worth the loss I most assuredly feel.

A side note that may mean nothing but may be a stroke of providence. I chose Kunshan as it had a job ready for me and it was closest to Shanghai one of the top universities in TCM. It was central to the country and would allow for ease of travel in all directions while I was here. But in investigating the streets I find that in all the construction around (more on construction later) there is a new branch of the local hospital of TCM right here in my yard basically not less than a block from my residence. I have yet to find out how connected it might be to the education system. What I do know is that regardless, again assuming I learn the language, I will likely have an opportunity to volunteer and at the hospital and gain more first hand knowledge as I prepare to try to ready myself for serious academic study. Again too early to know. But this is one of those coincidences that screams of destiny. We will have to see. I am reminded of something.

I wrote a poem as a teen. It was related to the many walks I would go on to clear my mind.

Down a troubled road walked a boy,
Rocks and trees guiding his hand.
Walked away down and around the bend was a boy,
to find upon returning a man.


It is my sincerest hope that my success here will be able to justify the sacrifices that have been made to make it happen. I do not know what this journey holds. Having just received a call from my boss that I will be taking over a class tomorrow morning cold with no idea the material or current syllabus. Kindergarteners this should be another worthy post in my adventure. :)

再见 zàijiàn

Good Bye for now.