It’s already been a month since I moved to Chengdu. A new city, and my new home. Where does the time go, honestly?
I started my new job, and it feels like forever ago I was planning my move a month prior. It was wild starting work the same week of my arrival, house hunting, and trying to get settled. It gets easier though; the process of adapting to change and the new feelings that come with it. Well, I think it does. What I do know is, that experience and knowledge go far.
One thing I’ve learned from this whole transition is to reevaluate my worth constantly. I don’t just speak in monetary means but regarding your overall well-being. I mean if life teaches you anything, it’s that if you’re actively working on yourself, you can’t stay stagnant in a place you’ve outgrown.
But of course, the money part is also important, don’t get me wrong. As someone who comes with a diverse set of skills, I have no reason to be hiding what I bring to the table. Because let’s face it, if Tod over here is asking for double for the little to no effort he puts in, 1). to hell with Tod, and 2). I refuse to live in Tod’s shadow of mediocrity.
It’s so easy to settle for the things we think are good enough, and those moments are so crucial to have individual(s) who remind you of who you are and the things you keep pushing aside. Thank you Leena for reminding me of this. You’ve officially won the “Wifey For Life” title.
And so for this reason and many others, I’m choosing to reclaim my time and energy.
This leads me to share this one Ted Talk I watched a while back, and it’s something that’s constantly on my mind. It’s called, “The 5 People You Need To Be Happy” by Stacey Flowers. It’s a talk that simply helps you reevaluate the connections you have in life, but also find the people who can and will lead you. To keep it short, she lists the 5 people to be: your cheerleader, mentor, coach, friend, and peer. I won’t give away more of what she said, but leave it up to you to watch the video. You won’t regret it!
So, back to my arrival in Chengdu. Sometimes I feel like my writing and thoughts are all over the place, but then realize everything eventually connects. Ah well.
As mentioned previously, I transitioned quite fast into my new job as a Kindergarten Teacher at a private school and I’m finding it to be different from my previous job…alhamdulillah. I have no shame in voicing my dislike for training schools at this point. There’s a lot more admin work in my new position, but I’d take that any day than having to do back-to-back classes at a training school. I’ll stop there before I go on a rant…
I also have many foreign coworkers, and they’ve been a great bunch to work and hang with. After a long day of work, it’s been nice to wind down and have good company.
Life in Chengdu is a lot different from Hohhot. It’s a bigger city for one. Chengdu has a total population of about 16 million, compared to Hohhot with 2.8 million. It’s southwest of China, located in Sichuan province, and borders Tibet. The weather is either hot and humid or wet. There is no middle. I’m just praying I don’t turn into a puddle during the summertime. I arrived in late August so I roughly experienced the heat, but not what could be worse…welp! It’s also greener, more accessible, easier for travel, and more I’ll have to save for a different blog post.
Overall, it’s been an experience worth documenting and reflecting on. I was looking for a change and I’m grateful I followed through. The difficulties came, ease came, but it’s been the experience of living it all that’s made me appreciate the journey.
xxx
