Cloudy in Beijing Blogging about my time in China

Heading out

After spending part of this summer back home, I'm off to Beijing tomorrow. I have fond memories of the place. I took this photo in the summer of 2004, when I was there doing a study abroad program. It was the cloudiest city I had ever been to, with pollution that literally made your skin itch.

Not exactly a fond memory. But things have changed a lot there. Back in January, I stopped in Beijing to see an aunt, and in the three days I was there, I did not see one cloud in the sky. Nice clean air, no doubt an aftereffect of the Olympic games.

I'm not sure what I can expect from Beijing. But it'll be an interesting transition. Xi'an had a population of 8 million, and now I'm headed to a place with over 17 million. I'll also be moving from China's ancient capital, all the way to the country's current capital.

What's more is that a few months ago I was a teacher at a college in China. But now, soon I'll be a student, studying Chinese. How the tables have turned! I'm looking forward to being back in school again. But I'm really heading to Beijing to find more journalism opportunities. At the very least, I know they'll be some blog writing to be had.

Goodbye Oregon. See you next time!