KP!

I can’t believe how long it’s been. Over 4 months since an update and before that the updates were very sporadic. I have so much to catch you up on KP.

I’m in China. In fact, I have to use a VPN to access you because wordpress is blocked in China. I’d really like to start updating daily again. It helped so much when I was doing daily updates. It might take a while to get back into the routine of things, but I’m really going to try.

Ok, so again I’m in China. It’s tough here. I’ve been here for over 4 months now and I’m ready to leave. I haven’t made many friends in Ningbo and certainly don’t have any good friends. There’s been a real lack of joy in my life these past few months. But really, it’s been longer than that. I wouldn’t say there was a ton of joy in my life in Thailand. Well, that is until I left.

I don’t like teaching. It’s been a difficult fact to face up to, but I simply don’t like it and can’t imagine doing it for too much longer. I don’t find the school to be very professional and I don’t like the kids that much either. Couple that with the loneliness I feel in Ningbo and things could definitely be better. I’m getting by and everything – still sober and glad I made the journey here, but I’m ready to leave.

And, thankfully, I am leaving. In 2 months time I will be done teaching. It was a difficult decision to put in my 90 day notice to leave this job, but it was the right decision. At the time I thought moving to Shanghai would be the best thing for me. Shanghai has a lot of contemporary art galleries, a really nice recovery community, comedy shows and a nice group of people I’ve managed to become friends with. Unfortunately, I’m now at the point with this job where I’m not sure I’ll be able to suffer through the next two months. I’m just at a point where I really, really don’t like it. The thought of finding another teaching job in Shanghai is simply not something I’m willing to do. Teaching isn’t for me and I’m ok with throwing in the towel. I’ve also got some exciting plans instead of Shanghai now. I’m going to head to Istanbul for a few months. I’m so excited about the prospect of being back in that city with a longer time to explore and discover all the cool things there are in Istanbul. It really hasn’t been a difficult decision to go back. I fell in love with that city a year ago and it’s time I visit it once again. I’m hoping to coordinate an apartment on Craigslist before I get there and then stay for 90 days which is how long the visa is good for. Logically Shanghai would be an easier and more financially savvy decision on my part, but I can’t teach any more and I feel I’m being pulled to Istanbul. My gut says Istanbul is where I’m meant to be so I’m going to trust my higher power and that the financial aspect of it all will fall into place.

It’s nice seeing you again KP. Like I said, I’m really hoping to make this a regular thing again. I enjoyed our time together before. I’ve also got a lot to process again because so much has changed since I quit the regular updates. Alright, I’m headed to bed now because I’m exhausted.