The Beginning

Sign outside Beijing Airport

The beginning starts somewhere in 2012, when I decided I had had enough. My boss was an anal retentive jerk, my work colleagues were old and miserable, and there was nothing in Atlanta for me. My maternal grandmother had been alone in her Bronx apartment for almost two years and it was obvious to me, from one thousand miles away, she was in the midst of Alzheimer's disease. My parents were at their wits' end from constantly dealing with her. I was in the middle of dealing with my own health problems - from skin cancer, to bladder issues, to "lady part" problems, I was forced to stay put until it was all resolved, which took the better part of 2012, loads of procedures and tons of anti-biotics.

China was a destination I had not been interested in going until I found an organization called GoEco, which offered one and two week volunteer programs in various parts of the world. Working with pandas sounded excellent. I applied and was accepted, and for a variety a reasons, had to keep delaying. Finally, after given the all systems go by the doctors who had been poking and prodding me all year, I applied for the holiday visa, bought travel insurance and a plane ticket and waited.

I was granted a visa to visit China three weeks before my departure date. Whew! I was actually making alternate travel arrangements in case I was denied entry. But I was going.

Landing in Beijing was the most fearful, most exhilarating and most fantastic moment I experienced in a LONG time. I was immersed in a place where I could not understand ANYTHING. I was overjoyed. My brain immediately slowed down as I stood outside the airport and took everything in. I had lost one day when flying and was exhausted but determined to see Beijing at night. Once I got to my hotel, I took a rickshaw ride. It was brilliant. While in Beijing, I visited the Forbidden City and climbed the Great Wall. My climb of the Great Wall was a humbling experience, to say the least. I fell, I was hot,

Forbidden City lit up

I was completely out of shape for something so rigourous. But I did it. And then, I flew to Chengdu to hangout with the pandas. My group consisted of five other girls, of whom I was the second to oldest (this has never happened to me before). We had an amazing program director, Francisco (not

Me and one of the residents. Carrots not included.

his real














name) and my roommate was great (see the blog Caught Short in Asia for her adventures). We fed the pandas and cleaned up after them, and at night we had different things to do. One night, a mah jongg lesson, then tai chi, then calligraphy.

All in all, China taught me that I had nothing to fear but fear itself. I had been trapped by my own fears, and the fears my boss and co-workers had instilled in me for so long I couldn't do the things I wanted to do. Namely, travel, leave my job and find something with more flexibility, and move home to be closer to my family and friends. Thank you, China. Onward and upward, as they say...when I returned home, I gave one weeks' notice and left before the week was up. I did not feel I owed the company anything, even after five and a half years. I took a loan from my 401k and made arrangements to move home. My motive was to be closer to my family and friends, to spend time with my Grandmother and to help look after her. The latter was not to be.