Beijing doesn’t have snow like Winnipeg does, but it did get plenty cold. We’re in that time of year in which it’s either warm and smoggy or cold and windy. And all this happens just in time for the zipper to break on my jacket!
It’s been a quick few months, actually, scratch that, time has been flying in general. The last time I felt time actually dragging its heels was back in 2017 when I had to deal with a few things back in Canada. Since returning to Beijing, however, I’ve had plenty of things to do. The new job keeps me moving from city to city and, when I’m not working, I’m at the gym, learning Chinese (I just posted about my updated language goals), or packing for my next business trip. I can’t say it’s a bad thing, but I can also see how other people have burned out or simply just got tired of the job. In any event, I’m not there just yet.
One topic that has been on people’s minds and in their water cooler talk is the trade war and the recent arrest (or detaining) of one of Huawei’s executives, the founder’s daughter, in Vancouver. According to the media, it is a legality that many of the so-called “Western” countries have, that is, if some one has broken a law then they can be picked up by an ally’s police force should they pass through their borders. Question is, how long was she in Vancouver for and why did this happen all of a sudden? I think many people have an answer and it may have something to do with the trade war talk between the US and China.
And that trade war has popped up in other areas, too, notably the closure of several foreigner-centered establishments here in Beijing, an overall impression that Beijing is not what it used to be in terms of living standards (at least for foreigners), and that China, in general, was becoming less hospitable towards foreign-owner companies or business ideas. I suppose this is nothing new and not unusual for a country to do, doesn’t Canada have a similar priority for Canadian citizens? Granted, Canada allows people to become passport holders and thus citizens, whereas many countries don’t have that same allowance.
In any event, I bet if I were to shut off my social media stream my life wouldn’t change very much, seeing as though my job keeps me busy enough. That is, of course, if I’m able to keep my job despite all the rhetoric in the news.
And what’s a blog worth? I recently finished reading Paul Theroux’s The Tao of Travel, an anthology of travel writings from over the last century or so. It’s categorized by theme and Theroux offers his own observations while also putting into perspective the travelogues of other writers. The book made me a little introspective of my own writings and, worse still, looking at the number of posts I’m able to put up in any given month, looks rather paltry. And that’s even after almost nine years of writing! (April 2019 will mark that occasion.) Not only that, but am I doing the country that I’m living in any justice in my writing? Am I travelling overseas or am I living overseas? What’s the difference and how should my writing reflect that?
One idea that has popped into my mind, after reading Theroux’s books, is, why have I never tried to write any fiction? It’s cheaper than making movies and and music, easier to publish (but just as easy to “steal” or distribute), and, well, again, is easy enough to do. I’m not saying it’s easy to write good fiction, but it seems simple and straightforward enough. Anyway, it’s a thought.
One other occasion that is coming up soon is the ten year anniversary of me starting this so-called nomadic lifestyle. That is to say, I left Winnipeg some ten years ago with the idea to travel Europe, go to South Korea to teach English, and then figure it out from there. It’s been quite the journey and I can’t say that it could’ve worked any other way.
Two more weeks of work and then it’s Christmas time, an occasion more celebrated in the West than over here in China. I should be flying home for a week or so and then right back into work throughout January. The next break after that will be the Lunar New Year at the beginning of February for which I have no plans just yet. I might just stay in Beijing for that one and enjoy the silence.
Anyway, I hope things are well for you and that the winter isn’t too harsh, wherever you are (in the northern hemisphere).