Sojournista writes from her cozy apartment in Shenzhen, China
My fingers are freezing above my keyboard today, not so much with writer's block, but with new tech user's block. I have a handful of stories that want to pour out of me right now, but my brain is abuzz with all of the new gizmos and gadgets that accompany this new blog space. Two weeks ago (now 6 weeks ago -- I had stage fright for many moons), I purchased this webspace to house a blog that I am carrying over from Google's Blogger -- I felt that it was time to take a leap, to take ownership of my very own space and to hold myself even more accountable for developing my identity as a writer and a storyteller.
I have been blogging for the past 6 years, inspired to start writing to tell my friends and family about the life that I was building abroad. The stories from my time living in Quito, Ecuador, and traveling through several countries in South America, as well as my first years in Asia are housed here.
While I currently live as the only human in my small abode, I now have two cats who keep me company. When I moved to Shenzhen, I adopted my first cat who I endearingly named Patacon after one of my favorite Ecuadorian foods. Our family of two became a family of three when a new kitten seemingly dropped from the heavens onto my 17th floor balcony. Silvermoon Free Solo, who we call Silvie for short, has settled in to life in 17J quite nicely ... with brief periods of irritation when her adoptive sister tries to play leap frog with her with little warning. Perhaps the story of her harrowing days hanging off the cliff of the 17th floor ledge will be my next post here.
When I am not cat-momming by night, I am teaching by day. I love nerding out in my classroom, dressed as Offred from The Handmaid's Tale, honing acting skills that have been waiting for an Off Broadway stage. More than putting myself on stage, though, working with the students and staff at Shekou International School inspires me to set a stage for student voice.
This spring, my seniors took on roles from Friedrich Dürrenmatt's The Visit, my juniors -- both ladies and gentleman -- have now taken their turn as Offred, and my sophomores read excerpts from Romeo and Juliet.
So, perhaps the biggest take away from today's post is that I am a cat lady, English nerd and international explorer. #iownitall
I do also love to cook. And it's near to dinner time here in Southern China, so I am off to my kitchen to put together some chicken burgers.
Catch you back here soon, I hope.
Love and peace,
Jamie, a 30-something sojournista