The Countdown Begins

...and here it begins!  I've finally started that blog I have been promising family and friends now for months.  Thanks for your patience everyone.  I now have no excuse not to let you all know what we're up to on our  travels throughout Asia!

We're less than a week from leaving the Monterey for Beijing, China, and boy has it taken some crazy coordinating skills!  In fact, our time living out of a suitcase started a few months ago when we decided to pack up our house early and spend our last few months in the US visiting family.  We've also been busy doing so much research, planning, paperwork, and preparation.  I think the four of us are all ready to finally get there and settle in to our new home, and I have to be honest, I'm a little anxious about getting adjusted to a completely new culture.  But I've been telling myself for a while that I MUST keep an open mind and make sure I learn something new as each day comes. 

That's not to say that there won't be challenges along the way.  As most of you know, my husband has been studying Mandarin for the last year.  While he is fluent in the language, the kids and I have only picked up a handful of words through his training.  So my number one goal for the next year is to pick up as much Chinese as I can and be fearless in practicing and improving whenever we travel.  I also want to make sure that the kids come to appreciate firsthand an appreciation for other cultures and remember as much as possible from their experience here as possible.  That's the most important reason I wanted to start a blog...years from now I'll want to flip through our photos and read our blog together to remember our time in China.  And our kids may someday realize what a unique opportunity we had to have this time together.

We invite you guys to join in our journey by following our blog and letting us also know what you all are up to over the next year.  Also, any travel tips you may have, or specific information on destinations of interest in China would be greatly appreciated.  Talk to you again on the other side of the world!