2018 In Review

2018 has been a big year! I turned 25. Traveled to several new countries and many cities in China. Tried new things. Learned more Chinese. Said goodbye to my kindergarten students and moved to Beijing. And I finally went home to the U.S. after almost a year and a half of being gone.

I wanted to revisit some of my favorite moments from 2018 before 2019 arrives – here they are:

January

My new year started with a belated Christmas production at the kindergarten I taught at, and also end-of-semester presentations with students I taught part-time.

February

Chinese New Year! I spent 18 hours in Singapore, got kissed by monkeys in Indonesia, and celebrated the Lunar New Year in Vietnam. I was with old friends, made lots of new friends, and also spent time traveling solo (which I really enjoyed!)

March

The spring semester started at Kindergarten, then I went to a Holi party in Dongguan and a St. Paddy’s Day party in Guangzhou.

April

Hello 25! I celebrated with middle school students and a trip back to Hengyang to visit old friends in my Chinese hometown. I also visited Shenzhen with friends.

May

I went to Hengyang with friends again and explored some cool places in Guangzhou.

June

I went to Hong Kong 3 times – once for the Dragon Boat festival,  once to buy a new phone, and once just to see if I could do a hike there and come back to Guangzhou all in a day (I could and it was exhausting but worth it).

July

Kindergarten let out for summer vacation and I said goodbye to my students I had been with everyday for 11 months! I taught a summer class for two weeks… and then I took a solo trip in China to Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang, two of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been in China.

August

I moved to Beijing and started a new job!

September

I joined a volleyball team, visited Nanjing, took a trip to the Great Wall, and saw a Chinese music festival. I also started collab-ing with other Instagrammers/Youtubers in China and met some really cool people!

October

I took a short trip to Inner Mongolia, moved apartments, and explored more in Beijing.

November

More volleyball, Great Wall trips, and hanging out in Beijing.

December

I celebrated lots of holidays and birthdays with friends in China and went home to the U.S. for the first time in a year and a half!

See Ya 2018

It’s been a wonderful year full of some amazing people, places, and moments! Thanks to everyone who made 2018 so memorable. I’m excited for the start of 2019 and setting new goals for myself; I’d like to restart Chinese lessons and study more, and also cross off more places on my China bucket list – and visit a few new countries if possible!) Do you have any goals for 2019?!