Why are you moving to/living in Beijing? This is a question that we have been asked more than any other over the last four months. I’ve thought a lot about this – seeing how the countless subway/taxi rides provide ample time for thinking – and even I am confused about my answer. One answer would be to further our careers, specifically my husband’s. As a language teacher this is very valuable experience for me and with his desire to work in business we felt this would be as good a place to start as any. International business experience is invaluable and Mandarin is becoming more desirable in business every year. Although this seems like reason enough to come, I don’t think this is really why we’re here.
My final answer would be that we are here in China because we were too comfortable in our lives at home. I don’t mean comfortable in a cozy way, I mean comfortable in a lazy way. We needed growing, stretching, and learning opportunities – because I believe that without such we will only move backwards. We had fantastic lives back home, we gave up a lot to come here, and sometimes I’ve found myself questioning why. However, I must remember the way growing experiences make me feel and I like that feeling a lot. I enjoy being stretched and I appreciate challenges. Weird, I know. Things were a little too easy for us at home and we needed a little challenge. I don’t want to be too comfortable because if I am that means I’m probably not paying enough attention to those around me and my place in the world.
No, I don’t think that you need to move to the other side of the world to grow. Of course not. There are countless ways that we can keep progressing intellectually and spiritually, I just think that we should never stop looking for opportunities to do so. And if we do find ourselves in a comfortable rut, we gotta do something to get moving!
