Aside from a way to keep up with friends and family, this blog is a good way for me to practice my English. You see, I’ve been living in China for just over a year now on a research grant that will remain nameless and my English has taken a beating. Not to say that my Chinese is taking up the slack though… I do plan on returning to America in about six months and I would like to not sound like a FOB/FOP when I get back.
My research is on Chinese domestic adoption practices. Sounds harmless enough, right? But in China its a hugely sensitive topic! This is probably due to the fact that many adoptions take place outside of what one could call the “legal realm.” By many, I think I mean most… Anyway, I find myself on the other side of the wall almost all of the time because of the nature of my research, even academics don’t want to touch me. It doesn’t help that there is almost nothing academic written on the topic in either English and Chinese. I’ve gotten to a point where I’m thinking that this may be too much for one girl to tackle alone.
After pushing my research goals temporarily aside, I came to the realization that I hadn’t even set up a life for myself here in Guangzhou, my home-base. I’ve been here for quite a while and I still feel like I’m living out of a suitcase. This blog will chronicle my “muddling through” phase, as I ploddingly search for new opportunities and friends in this frantic industrial Southern Chinese city.
