In Honor of a New Year

It's that time... when people make resolutions and ponder lies ahead in the year to come. It's Chinese New Year. (Well, technically CNY is Feb. 9-10, but it's being observed legally on Mon. 11th, though up to a month's holiday is taken by many businesses and institutions.)

Chinese lanterns, decorated by our AIAN students

Today (Friday), we just had a Chinese New Year Celebratory Day, complete with yummy foods, fun traditions, and traditional festive activities and an all-school assembly. (See photos in this blog post as the narrative for that day's activities.)

In the coming weeks, we'll have a 10-day break from school, February 7-17, during which Kari and I will be adventuring through Cambodia and Thailand--MUST GET OUT OF CHINA DURING CNY-SPRING FESTIVAL CELEBRATIONS!!! You see, travel within China is made nearly impossible by a Romanesque-

census type of mass migration of people filtering in and out of cities and the countryside, trekking at great lengths to get back to celebrate the holiday with their families, as is Chinese custom. (Think, Western Christmas/religious holidays and/or Thanksgiving, 4th of July, and New Year's holidays all combined.) Though seeing/participating in some CNY celebrations will be in order (parades, festivals, noisy displays of music and artistry), the majority of the holiday for foreigners means that shops will be
closed, or keeping irregular hours, and travel in the country will be constipated and severely delayed/expensive/inconvenient, due to all the citizens'/nationals' domestic travel activity. So we opt to leave the country and explore Southeast Asia. There will still be plenty of celebrating to experience in China pre- and post-CNY (which happens to fall on the weekend of Feb. 9-10, according to this year's lunar calendar). 

Chinese character/zodiac art:
individual artwork animals by students and staff members

Chinese buffet lunch! Pot-stickers,
dumplings, chow mein, and more!

So anyway, at this point of transition in the lunar calendar, I thought I'd take some time to reflect on my past year... I should note that I began these reflections more than a month and a half ago, right before our Western calendar's New Year celebrations, at the time when my culture typically contemplates resolutions, reflects on the past, and looks to future dreams and aspirations...

Whirlwind doesn't even begin to explain the pace of my travels and adventures through the last year. Flipping through the worn pages of my passport, I see my year in review: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, (haha back and forth back and forth, and Panama was in there somewhere too, but maybe about 18 months ago), USA Dept Homeland Security for a check in... and then on to 12 European locations: UK/England, France, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Italy, the Vatican, Monaco, Spain, and Portugal, {insert extra pages for $80}, China, Hong Kong, and South Korea, most recently. 

What's next? Well, no different from around this time last year, thoughts of the future cloud my mind, as I not only contemplated what I wanted to do for Chinese New Year (Cambodia? Thailand? Laos? All three?), or spring break (Japan? Or just travel around massive

Making sugar-candy sucker-art!

China?) or summertime (New Zealand? US?). No, I contemplate more than just my addiction to discovering new horizons and the thrill of a change of scenery. I realize the travel bug bit and infected me a long time ago, implanting in me a now deeply-rooted desire to explore, question, see what and who is new, and investigate anthropological, historical, and cultural components of various regions of the world. Every place has unlimited facets of culture to observe--whether just passing through or there for a more permanent time of residency. There is an vast expanse of unknowns to discover!

Sugar candy butterfly sucker

Having an expert certificate and foreign identification in China (I'm considered an "expat" here, not just a foreigner "laowai") has put new things into perspective for me this time around as I continue living abroad. China is no Latin America, and I find myself comparing my life abroad to past years' experience living in Chile, Costa Rica, and traveling other various parts of Central and South America. That said, Asia is so unique and different from my experiences in Europe, Africa, and the Americas combined. I am excited to continue observations in Southeast Asia, brief as my visits may be in that region of the globe.

Chinese lanterns and dragon!

So... what IS next? I know that when my contract is up at AIAN this July, I will be moving on, as much as I desired to stay in one place for a longer period of time. Without going into too much detail about the specifics of the situation--though I love the international community that exists in Beilun, Ningbo, as well as the convenience of exploring Asia and this side of the globe while I'm in this hemisphere--if I stayed at this school, it just wouldn't be healthy for me. "Healthy" in a couple of terms. One, professionally. I am not a teacher by profession. Though I have ELL Certification, having acquired it during my undergrad studies, I don't have a Teaching Certificate. (I have contemplated getting my Masters in Teaching, at some point in the not-so-distant future. I feel like having an MIT might be a good tool to possess in my belt of skills.) But I studied Cross-Cultural Studies (and Spanish and Communications). I am most passionate and excited when learning about cultures, the way they interact, observing clashes and learning from my own experiences as a traveler. Knowing what it's like to be a student in a foreign culture. Or a foreigner. Or an immigrant. Observing the socio-economic, political, and religious stratas intrigues me. But yet, in all these interests, I do recognize a desire I have for permanency as well, a sense of home, and a constant, consistent community. (Though I know I can find a sense of belonging and purpose nearly anywhere I go). But realistically, in pursuit of my own well-being, I now have a need for stability for my health.

2nd graders are instructed on
how to make dumplings, ... lunch!

Which leads me to health in the physical sense. My respiratory issues in China have not become any better, as compared to my conditions upon leaving Costa Rica, though I have been able to experiment with Eastern medicine a bit, and still intend to explore and investigate other techniques as well. My health issues that have arisen in the last year or so have really made me live life with a new perspective. I have to make different decisions and live more cautiously, or at least more regularly and scheduled. This may sound weird to those who knew me in my growing up years. You're probably thinking, hasn't Lara always been scheduled and orderly and regimented? Well, in perspective, as a matter of balance, in the last several years of my life, living and traveling abroad, I have learned to become much more spontaneous, relaxed, and care free. Pura Vida. Going with the flow. And I've enjoyed it. I've learned to take things that come at me without freaking out. Latino lifestyle or influence rubbing off on me? Perhaps. Or maturity and experience that comes with age over time? Also likely. 

In my "wisdom" that all my 24 years have compounded, I have truly come to learn that life is all about balance. There is a time and place for scheduling. Likewise, there is a time and a place to be carefree. It is all contextual. And there is balance. I like balance. I like being healthy. I must now return to regimenting my life into scheduled blocks of time, taking regulated medications and monitoring my health conscientiously to know when I must take precautions to conserve energy and preserve my well-being (both physically and emotionally, so that I am sound of mind and body). 

Chinese students dress for the occasion!

Though my desires waver back and forth from time to time (ok, month to month--no, week to week--alright, perhaps even on a day-to-day basis), I think I want to look for some sense of permanency, or at least to have more of a stabile home base. That's not to say I won't travel or continue to explore cultures, but I need one place to gather up and store all of my belongings that have been spread out over all the past several years of living abroad, traveling, studying, and working. My parents want my boxes of random stuff out of their house for sure, so they can repaint the purple-and-green polka-dotted and striped walls of my old bedroom. I think I have stuff in Spokane, possibly at my Gramma's in Hollister, CA still, and all this new stuff with me here in China. 

A few months ago, I was NOT ready to move back Stateside. I couldn't imagine my life in that context yet. I was still grappling and struggling with new concepts and realizations and ideas of how I should act and choose to live my life, even in the most basic of daily life practices--from grocery shopping to choosing household products, to recycling and composting. I wasn't ready to enact those changes for a more permanent lifestyle in my daily life. I hadn't processed fully that which I have been coming into contact--the cultural differences and different ways of living. While I can't say I have fully digested all my experiences, I can say that I have a better grasp on reacting and knowing how I can personally enact change to live in a manner that is conscientious but not extreme. I want my life experiences to be lived out as a globally-conscientious citizen of the world.

Typical high schoolers, in traditional Chinese garb,
waiting for the assembly to start

I think I could incorporate my beliefs and what I have learned and realized first-hand, breaking the invisible barrier of ignorance--stigmas and stereotypes, generalizations and unknowns that float around out there. I CAN be the change I want to see in the world. I am empowered and educated to make conscientious decisions. I can live in a manner that is tangibly affecting positive change in my immediate, and even global, communities to which I have been introduced and settled myself into.  In experiencing diverse world cultures, I think that with time and distance (removal or relocation) from those experiences, new perspectives and wisdom continue to develop and grow. I continue processing, my worldview (yeah, such buzzwords still exist post-Whitworth) still ever-expanding, with support and perspective from wise and experienced people who are continually there for me, and new friends who make an impact as well. I feel fortified and empowered to make healthy decisions for a positive future. 

Middle School dancers wait for their turn to present;
I did hair and makeup for about two dozen girls !

As you can probably gather from my implications, I'm not saying that I want to settle down and become stagnant and do the same thing for the rest if my life; I just cannot see myself content with that sort of lifestyle. I still have dreams to follow, passions to pursue, and visions to explore. But at least for a spell, I want consistency and regularity. And familiar faces. With maybe the occasional travels and exploration peppered in every couple months, to satiate my desires for new and change, and continue spicing my life up with food for thought. There is always room for growth and development. 

I'm trying to figure out what type of job I want to look for next. But there are a lot of factors to be considered... you know, my health primarily. But also other stuff... like personal relationships with family and friends. Proximity to loved ones. And then logistical details as for when/how/where to go about moving all my stuff. How much money that will cost, and paying back loans and having bills to pay, and other stuff all the while. How do I balance that with my desires for travel and adventure, and

My ELL Coordinator colleague, French-Canadian, Line:

she sang Beijing opera!

...and little 4th-grade dancers and our secretary, Shirley, assisted.

 learning about new cultures and anthropology? And what about my aspirations for grad school? Ack! So much. I oftentimes find myself needing to talk (or write) through my thoughts. I am tiring of having things up in the air every other year or so, and having to move and start a completely new chapter. It's just not a convenient or appealing lifestyle to me anymore. So much has changed in my life due to my health conditions.

So (I always tell my elves never to start sentences with "so," as a transition word. It drives me up the wall... But I do it all the time colloquially)... that's all to say, as we start a new (lunar/eastern) year, I am blessed with new perspectives and contemplate life with deeper understanding and insight. Does it make deciding on my future plans any easier? Nope. Most definitely not. I'm probably even more indecisive than ever, with more options. There are so many choices and endless combinations of options if what to do next. It's just a matter of weighing all the pros and cons (if I can get them all up on that figurative scale, that is). And then deciding on what's best, with my perspective. (I also tell my students that "And" is not a transition word, and they are never to use it at the start of a sentence, rather only as a connecting word between phrases or clauses. This is definitely a narrative and not a formal piece of writing.)

Chinese New Year wishes and decor adorn our hallways

That's a look into my mind at this point. This entry was more of a reflective, journalistic exercise than an update. Sorry if it was boring. It's rather helping me to process.

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

-The Hobbit