I'm not expecting anyone to read it but I fancy my hand at writing more in my 28th year! I have a lot to look forward to in the coming months, if, as they say, all goes to plan! So I would like to keep a record of my last few months here and going forward in the UK!
The big plan on the agenda is the impending move back to blighty, which in my case is the wonderful town of Chesterfield, England! My wife and I are leaving China after the Chinese New Year in around Feb or March! The VISA process seems to be manageable by ourselves but I hope to McJesus that it goes smoothly! As much as I have enjoyed Shanghai over the last 10 months, I miss my family a great deal, not to mention my friends, and can't wait to get back to them!
Here's the backstory! I came on holiday to shanghai (from now on, SH) in July 2011 quite randomly! One of my best friends and his now ex-girlfriend were visiting her brother who has lived here for 3 years. They asked if I wanted to join them and at the time of asking I had no real exciting plans in the pipeline and was just getting over a breakup from a 4 year relationship! I replied with an immediate, "fuck it, why not!!??"
So the time rolled on and I was eventually in SH on the 17th July 2011! I have always had something of a "thing" for Chinese girls in my late teens but never had the chance to meet any until I went to university in Manchester! There was a Chinese girl in my hall but bless her soul, she was very shy and kept herself to herself! Come to think of it I can't remember seeing her too much at all!
Anyway on my first night in SH, I had my first real encounter with a Chinese girl, 2 in fact, friends of my mates, (now ex) girlfriend's brother! (My hand is killing me typing on my iPhone)
Their names were Lynn and Helen, they spoke English quite well and I introduced myself with a traditional Italian style, both cheek kiss! (Being half Italian myself this felt quite normal, but somehow doing it in China felt strange and I didn't know if it was the right thing to do) All seemed ok though and we had a great first night in a bar called Windows Too near the famous West Nanjing road in SH!
Within 20 minutes I was learning the basics of mandarin. They were teaching me 1-10 (yi, er, san. si, wu, liu, qi, ba, jiu, shi FYI) and we got drunk and had a dance! But my real attention was on the other girl, Lynn! She was gorgeous and I plucked up courage to say hello and introduce myself further. Immediately I saw her English was not as sharp as Helen's and found out she had not been learning as long, but we slowly had a conversation about, I forget now, but I remember her smile and welcoming behaviour to this day. That's mainly because I still see it every day at home, we got married on the 17th July 2012, exactly one year after we met!
I spent a lot of time with her on my holiday and by the end I knew I had found something special, we kind of clicked, in a cliched kind of way. I remember texting home to my parents that I had "fallen in love with a Chinese girl."
I told Lynn on my final day in SH that I would like to come back for her! She cried and said she hoped I would, but she really thought I would just go home and forget her! I promised I would try to come back if she really wanted me to and we kept in touch everyday when I got home!
I kept my promise, after convincing my parents that it was what I wanted and planned my move! It was a prospective case of regretting the things I did or regretting the things I didn't do, and upon thinking of this I didn't once doubt choosing the former! I simply couldn't bear the thought of not seeing Lynn again and so, to cut a long story short, I got an English teaching certificate, quit my job and came back!
Lynn is fast asleep lying by my side as I write this and I can't help but feeling like the luckiest guy alive right now!
It's now 4:40 am, Manchester United have won 2-1, and I'm about to post my first blog!
Lynn...she said her name was Lynn! x
