It never ceases to amaze me how my life has taken some very unexpected turns in the past couple of months.  Somehow I went from my ten year plan to flying out to Singapore to work with one of my closest friends and "British" twin of sorts.  Now I’m in a foreign country in a region of the world that has always been a mystery to me and I’m trying to come to terms with how it at once reminds me very much of my Chinese roots and British immersion, yet still doesn’t resemble either of those countries.

Does that even make sense?  I feel like I’m connecting with Chinese culture through the references and occasional Mandarin spoken here.  Along with that, the British-sounding English accents I hear when I’m conversing in English is reminiscent of my time in York.  Yet, somehow the food is unique though it is similar to what I had in China.  The language is still different and unique to this country.  My mind is all a jumble.  Things are so different, yet so many little things remind me of this or that.

Well, to add to all that sensory excitement, Marylin and I had our first weekly meeting/debriefing with "the bosses" today and some more new exciting opportunities came up.  I’m very open to all the possibilities we have available to us, so I was definitely interested and excited, but I’m also a relatively cautious person, or I at least need to mull things over and really digest it.  I love to analyze things from every angle (so I can usually sympathize with people of all opinions) and it takes time to process things.

So what did we discuss?  A chance to take on a project set to take place in a year in China.  It’s a huge event that will be great experience, exposure, and networking for us.  It will also put our Mandarin skills into practice and teach us more about another Asian country.  Since it will be held in Beijing, I can also be near my parents (if only for a few days) and back in my home country.  So, in theory it sounds great, right?

Well, that was my first impression too.  But later on the analytical filter started to grind and it finally started to hit me – this would mean potentially staying in Singapore for a good year and a half, two years.  Yikes!  With that kind of prolonged stay, Marylin and I would have to look into finding our own place to live, since it would not be nice to impose on her parents for too long.  I’d also have to figure out how to extend my visa, look into getting a bank account, perhaps sign up for a contract phone, etc… you can see there’s a lot of things involved in a semi-permanent relocation.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  There are also so many things to consider first, before I even decide I want to go forth with this!  Marylin and I need to meet with a very important person first, to see if we are suitable for this job and how we get along with him.  I’d need to talk to Panda and my parents to see how they react to the idea.  It’s also rather early on and I don’t know how well I will assimilate into this culture.  The people are great and I’m being fed well, but it’s not stuff I’m used to and I don’t know if I will get homesick once things start to settle down more.

This first week has just been hectic with all the information overload I’ve been experiencing.  Today was the first time that I was sitting there, getting work done and really feeling like part of the team.  Up until now I’ve largely been observing and shadowing, which I will still do a lot of as I try to find my place within this group and carve my own spot.  So really what I’d like to do is work on this project until September, then go back to LA and work from there for a period of time.  After that, I can either return here to continue my work or head over to China to work from there until the event is over.  Of course, that is just ideal, so I’ll be flexible with what I’m willing to do.

One thing I do know is that I won’t deal with being away from Panda as well as Marylin has dealt with being away from her boyfriend.  Currently it’s also more of a strain because there is no internet connected in the new office just yet and with my long days, the only time I can catch Panda online is my afternoons.  I haven’t properly chatted with him since I’ve gotten here and though a week doesn’t sound that long, it has felt like a month.  I’m a bit needy when it comes to talking to him.  It’s too easy to miss him.

So, time and time again I have found myself at these crazy crossroads, with so many paths branching in so many directions I start to get confused.  It will take a little time to sort it all out (and by then the next confusing choice will be upon me, haha).  Such is life.