Finding the Motivation to Explore Home

Blue skies? In Guangzhou? It's been surprisingly clear
recently, perhaps because of all the rain.

Oh, hello June! You crept up out of nowhere. How is it already June? There are a lot of exciting things I have planned for this month (not the least of which will be my family visiting at the end of this month – can't wait!), but I still don't think I was ready for it.

I've been in Guangzhou long enough that it is officially home. I breathe that welcome-home sigh of relief when I open my door, kick off my shoes and drop off my bag. And my room is recognizably mine: plenty of knickknacks lining available surfaces; bed hopelessly, forever unmade; floor covered in clothes, both clean and dirty. Feels like home to me.

But the problem with thinking of Guangzhou as home is that it's easy to forget how little I've seen of the city and how short a time I've actually been here. Weeks pass and I do little outside my typical routine – work, gym, late nights, laundry, grocery shopping. Long mornings spent in bed in front of the computer, trying to drag my butt out of the apartment to do the many things on my to-do list. Honestly, who has the time to explore the many wonders this city has to offer, when there's so much day-to-day stuff to get done (or procrastinate and ignore)?

A Quick Look at My Day-to-Day

The view of the Pearl River from my balcony at sunset - not bad!

Sorry for the delay, folks. Going to start getting into a better blogging habit, as I (foolishly, it seems) promised before I left for China.

It's hard to believe that this is my three-month mark. There's no way I've been in Guangzhou for three months already! No way that it's been even longer than that since I was last in Tampa! But the date is probably more reliable than my perception of time, so I'll trust it.

I certainly feel settled now, and have some semblance of a routine. My days off are Tuesday and Wednesday, for those looking for the best times to Skype with me, although I try to fill my days off with adventures around the city or much needed errands.