It's hard to know where to start when you begin a writing project that spans a cumulative decade of your life. I spent almost 10 years in total in Taiwan (which is part of China to the Chinese, although not to many others) and four provinces in mainland China teaching, publishing, editing, and learning. I figured I'd do a brief introduction to the regions that I called home for this significant period in my life before I share anecdotes, photos and insights.

My introduction to Chinese culture was actually Taiwan. I see it as a separate country for many reasons: the political and economic systems are completely different, but I also didn't need to speak to China at all when I obtained my work visa. Taiwan is where I first learned to speak Chinese and to navigate the culture and customs, many of which are observed in the mainland.

I took a break of 6 years after leaving Taiwan and returned to Canada to do a second postgraduate degree and other things. And then my feet got itchy and I decided to move to mainland China. And I ended up in a rural community in Hunan province. It was probably one of the hardest, but most interesting, years of my entire life. I spent a difficult year and then I went back to Canada to recover, but after a few years, I made it back to the mainland for more. I worked in Hainan province and Nanjing city before settling in the metropolis of Guangzhou for 6 years.

There was so much of China that I never saw - it is a large country, after all. Who knows if I'll go back to visit in the future. Regardless, I have a treasure trove of memories and photos that I'll share in my posts to come. Stay tuned...!

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