A Taste for Life...

Its often said that someone has a "taste" for something when they show a deep interest or talent in an area.  Some have a "taste for sushi" or has a "taste" for fine wines.  Others have a taste for adventure or even a taste for trouble.  A phrase has been toiling in my head lately, "A Taste for Life."  Its been 9 months since I  have last posted a blog entry, but that doesn't mean that I have been skipping out on writing.  Admittedly, most of the writing has been in my head while taking the subway or taxi around town here in Chengdu. A couple personal journal entries and a few articles for a local magazine here in China, have contributed to a little writing as well.  On the long flights to and from the US this past fall, I did a lot of thinking about this feeling that I have always had to write books.  What to write about?  I have several kids books ideas, but something more for now.

I have been very fortunate to live in Chengdu, China now for two years.  Its crazy to think that I stepped out on an adventure and said "I can do this for a year." Here we are two years later and I just signed my third year contract for teaching English in China.  Its truly adventure.  No one day is ever like the day before.  Most of that is because for one, I live in China, where you always expect the unexpected.  Secondly, I work with kids.  Everyone knows how this can be unpredictable, funny and challenging.  I have settled in here in Chengdu, for now.  Well, as much as a foreigner can with limited language abilities and a sense of trying to blend into the city.  What I have found is that unlike where I grew up, there is always something new to discover.  Partly, this is because I am living in a city of over 14 million people with a booming economy and massive growth.  With the quick growth of this city and more western influence seeping in, there is a blend of familiarity and unexplored that is around every corner.

I have never been one to say I was homesick.  I remember when I studied abroad in Germany, it was several weeks before I called home to say I had made it safe.  It wasn't that I was detaching myself and wanting to escape my parents.  It was more of a fact that I had just landed into a city where I had yet to explore and the opportunities where endless.  I felt like I had a whole city and country to explore and I had to get it all in as soon as possible.  I still have that feeling living here in China.  But it expands beyond just China...but throughout Asia.

There is a taste that I have in the depth of my soul for exploring and seeing the world.  So many times we watch the Discovery Channel or Travel Channel saying to ourselves how nice it would be to visit someday.  I have often said that the ideal job would be me working for a travel show, seeing the world through my own eyes.  I enjoy seeing life as a tourist and seeing the highlights of a city or area.  More exciting, however, is meeting those people who live there.  Locals often have the hidden keys to a city knowing that perfect place to enjoy local cuisine.  The locals can refer you to their favorite off the beaten path pubs, coffee shops, restaurants or sights that otherwise would have been missed following the typical tourist routes.  That is the taste for life I love.  Living like a local or at least exploring the local scene when visiting a new city.

Its not just about travel, but truly learning to enjoy life where you are.  Some save and work endlessly in hopes to build a better future down the road.  But in my sometimes optimistic eyes, I don't understand why you would miss the opportunities to miss living the fullest life now.  Truly living life is not about having the latest and greatest, but more an attitude of openness, willingness and appreciation for the small things in life.  This isn't something I feel you just come up with on your own.  Rather its developed through experiencing life and enjoying the moments day by day.  Some may say I have given up on the American dream.  To me, I have my own dreams.  It involves a passport, a camera (or iPhone) a journal and a taste for life that never ends...