Work.

Work is prevalent in life these days. I spend 70-80% of the month on the road. And while I love what I do- it has taken a toll........ Today I was asked what I love about my job. This trip to Qingdao, China, being my next trip in the blogger role, summed it up for me. The people. My colleagues have become some of my best friends (and family=) Being able to meet so many new and diverse people has changed and expanded my life beyond words. I can't imagine not having lived these experiences and I am blessed to have a job that let's me travel the world seeing amazing places and meeting such great people. With that said, next year brings a life of balance.

visit to Chengdu, China

what a whirlwind! US, Spain, Denmark and China before heading home for the Holidays. Here's a few shots from my trip to the Panda breeding center, dinners out with colleagues and a bit of chinese entertainment.

what a way to nap! they were absolutely adorable- though very lazy guys!

these excercise parks are all over china for adults to use- how funny!

hot pot dinner (famous in the sechuan region)

a changing faces dancer at the chinese opera house

Last Stop- Qingdao and Hong Kong

back to Qingdao as last stop of the 2 month escapade! a quick week, a detour thru Hong Kong and baby I'm home!! 2 months brought so many adventures, new cultures, friends, experiences. I might have just learned as much in these 2 months as in the last 2 years. It was a long journey- but oh so worth it.

a view of Qingdao- sight of the 2008 Olympic Sailing Events

dinner out and 1 final night in Hong Kong

Beijing

I went into Beijing with low expectations- and a bit cautious of jumping from the Bali sunshine to the China smog. (Luckily we missed the sandstorm by 2 days) But the 5 days we spent there were incredible. There are so many historical sights and interesting things to see. And eventually we got used to the "oh-so-different" Chinese culture. Here's a few of our favorite places.

quite sure we were the first Westerners they'd ever seen

Tianamen Square

2008 Olympic Stadium- "The birds nest"

Walking around the night Market

outside the Forbidden Cityat the Summer Palace a hike to The Great Wall The Temple of Heaven

with a few of our fans. We would be standing around and people would come up and ask for a photo. I mean like 4 or 5 times a day. Again- assuming we might have been the first western experience for them? Chinese Acrobats- while we enjoyed our Pekin Duck

Chickety China- Part I

My first trip to China. A week of work. and a visit with my old friend from Charlotte, Roy Wu. We arrived on the last day of Chinese New Year, just in time for Fireworks! It was cold in Qingdao though, so most of our evenings were spent trying out local Chinese cuisine- no General Tsao's, but we did have fun with the chicken feet and ox tongue!

Thoughts from the Copthorne hotel.

I woke up the other morning from a bad dream. I was in the hotel lobby in a panic b/c I had a pocket full of room keys and couldn't remember the room number. This is pretty much the past weeks in a nut shell. I know my blogs have been a bit "random" these days. 1 day Tennessee, the next Qingdao?? Not sure i even knew where that was before this trip. But none the less, it's been a heckuva trip! I'm exactly 1 month in and exactly 1 month to go.

So what am i doing? One theory is i'm a few months away from my 30th! So perhaps it's a feeling of seeing the world before then. =) Actually though, the job i took 10 months ago ended up being the jackpot! I'm 1 of 4 consultants in our company who has been tasked with implementing Process Improvement in our organization. This means lots of workshops, trainings, and guiding others in our organization to think a bit differently about what they do in their jobs. We're doing this globally, thus the reason for the hop scotch across the map. I love it. I'm meeting such interesting people, trying out foods I would have never considered, and seeing parts of the world that aren't typically on top of the "to-do" list. and when I return in April, it slows down quite alot. So now is my time and i'm taking advantage of it. For you never know how long the door will be open.

Having said that- I am quite tired, sometimes not sure where I am when I wake up, and feel that i'm sometimes running on full speed when others around are walking around. I miss my friends, my family, my Ricky, and my little Addie who is now talking more than I do!

And......I crave sweet tea.