Itchy Feet

I've only been in Shanghai for a few months but I'm already ready to travel again.  Don't get me wrong, I love Shanghai.  I'm really happy that this is the place I've decided to settle down for a while. But unlike Honduras, I haven't had the chance (or taken the opportunity, rather) to leave the city over the weekends because there is too much to see and do here.

I have decided to come home at Christmas because I'm not quite ready to make the leap to travel alone during such a family-oriented holiday, and while I'm really excited to spend time with my family and friends, I can't help but feel like I'm missing out on a great travel opportunity.  I'm right at the hub to jump off to so many exciting places in South East Asia that my plans for the year are all over the place.  I guess its a good thing that I am planning on staying a few years or I would never be able to see everything I wanted to. So in order to make up for my lack of travel at Christmas, I am planning a whirlwind summer tour.

At the moment I do have some trips in the works:

• February- Myanmar to see some good friends from college/Honduras and explore the temples of Bangan.
• April- Malaysian Borneo or the Philippines for some beach/diving time
• Summer 2015: Washington (beginning of the summer), Las Vegas (end of the summer), and...??

So now I need some help decided where to go with my remaining four weeks of vacation.  I know, the life of an international teacher is hard...but I will certainly have worked for that time off and be in desperate need of a holiday.

I've made a few tentative plans to head to Brussels.  I've never been to Belgium and everything I read about it makes me want to book a ticket immediately.  I'd also love to go back to the UK and see some friends.  My current thoughts are to head back to London for a few days and then take the train up north into Liverpool, Blackpool, and Manchester.  I've been to London 4-5 times and everyone knows how much I love it there.  Every time I make it to London, though, I seem to skip out on Northern England and I'm ready to check out a new part of the country.  It will have been a year and a half since I've been in the UK and that is clearly way too long.

My other option would be to head to Scandinavia for a few weeks.  I'm dying to go to Copenhagen and Stockholm and I could only handle the climate that far north in the summer.  I know it will be a lot more expensive than hanging out at home, but I can resist a new adventure. 

Now, during this time I also need to spend some time with my family in Florida and catch up with friends.  It will be a busy 5 weeks no matter what I decide to do, so why not explore a little more before heading back to China?  

Help!  Any suggestions on my summer plans or hidden SE Asian gems?

So...I'm the Worst

Clearly keeping up with this blog is turning out to be a lot more difficult than I thought.

Before I moved to Shanghai I figured that I would be bored and lonely living by myself for the first time.  It has basically been the exact opposite.  I'm never home for any extended period of time and I am constantly running from one thing to the next, which is great (minus the fact that I am insanely tired, but more on that to come).

So since I've been here last I have continued to explore Shanghai on the weekends and go to Crossfit during the week.  There have been so many places I've seen that I can't even remember them all, but everything has been great.  I promise to take you when you come to visit =)

Some Major Highlights:

Chili Cook Off-
So much good food, beer, and bourbon.  It was like a real cook off back home.  The weather was even nice.  Afterwards we found an amazing Laser Tag Bar.  We need these in the US.  There is no better way to play laser tag.

During the first week of October we had our Mid Autumn Holiday and a friend of mine from Honduras came over to Shanghai for a visit.    We found all sorts of pop up bars, fun events, and great activities to get up to.  My favourite was the Persian restaurant we stumbled upon.  They had great hookah, traditional music, and a fantastic owner who gave us free brandy.  I finally got a chance to visit the Science and Technology Museum, which was probably the biggest mistake I've made in China since there were about a million people who all had the same great idea we did.  It was impossible to navigate around, but I saw enough to know it is definitely worth a trip back.  I also had the chance to go down Shouning Street--the place Anthony Bourdain wandered down on Parts Unknown--to sample to sea food (delicious) and countless bottles of beer (too much fun.)  It was a great night out!

Courtney enjoying the sheesha

Shouning Street Delicacies 

Crawfish we eventually ate :-\

After my wonderful week off I headed back to the US to see my very best friend get married.  I spent 6 days in Charleston and had an amazing time.  The wedding was awesome, it was great to see all of my friends and family, and got to explore a fun new city in the process.  The weather was perfect, so coming to Shanghai was a bit of a shock because fall has officially arrived here.  Thank god my mom brought all of my winter clothes up from Florida for me to bring back.  (Thanks mom!)

Rehearsal Dinner

Throw Back since wedding photos weren't available yet

I am definitely looking forward to a quite few weeks here in Shanghai before the craziness of November begins.  (Think lots of additional work commitments and trips away from the city.) Hopefully I'll be able to start learning the ukelele I bought in September and haven't had a chance to play yet.

Now I promise to try to keep this updated a little better so you can actually get a feel for what is going on in my like.