Plans are fluid ...

On Tuesday I wrote a post about all the thoughts whizzing around in my head. I didn’t want to confirm what was happening, mostly for fear of a) sounding like a flake, b) people at work finding out (although I doubt anyone from work reads this) and c) changing my mind and then looking like even more of a flake. I also still hadn’t gotten anything straight and didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up.

So, partly in excerpts from an email I sent out (lazy, but I also thought it was reasonably well written), here is the new plan for the next little while …

I'm still going to Oz for a month or so, but then I'm coming back to Auckland to work for December in the revolving restaurant in Minas Morgul (geek reference), so that I can leave on Dec 26 or 27 for …

China!

An association for overseas Chinese (overseas from China that is) is arranging a 7 day trip for 18-25 year old NZ-born Chinese kids so we can visit and learn some of the history and culture (including kung fu, calligraphy and cooking). We'll be going to visit our ancestral villages as well (apparently mine has a couple of cool forts and is being preserved for historical, and tourism, purposes). I'll be going with one of my sisters and we'll hopefully be doing a bit more travel around Asia in the following weeks. The absolute best part is that the only thing we have to pay for is the flight – 7 days of food, transport and 4 star accommodation is all taken care of! Thanks, Chinese government (doesn't quite make up for putting my dad in jail when he was younger, but they're doing what they can). Actually, I think the real best thing is that there will be a translator to compensate for my banana-ism (if you're not familiar with racist slurs – banana is a semi-derogatory term for Asians who are really white inside. Bananas are supposed to be a "perfect food" though. And high in potassium).

After the China/Asia thing, I will have a little bit of time to spare before going to Turkey. There are a few different options right now, but I’m sure one will come to the forefront eventually.

I’m very excited about the new developments, and although I will be missing the Falls Festival in Australia, I know there will be a lot more opportunities to hang out with my friends, and very few like the week in China.