Starting off the blog: Take two

So I've been thinking....My first blog post was a pretty anti-climactic way to start things off. There's so much more going on in my head. Lately though I am so overwhelmed I can't hardly decipher whats going on in there. Also I just figured I should put something there so people would have something once they started following. I'm very glad I have a few followers already! Thanks for caring about what would otherwise be rather insignificant thoughts. They may still be insignificant, but I'd like to think I have at least something remotely intelligent and interesting to write about. I mean...I'm going to fricken China! How many people get to say they studied in China for 5 months? I've hardly been able to function I've been freaking out so much. I've also been very bored and this blog has helped resolve a bit of both of those things.

Something that I forgot to mention is the environmental focus I will be putting on my experiences there, and also somewhat spiritual since for me the two can't really be divided. Yes I am a dirt-worshipping, tree-hugging, hippie. I'm very interested in the environmental and social issues facing China at the moment as well as the traditional culture that focuses a lot on the elements and balance. It seems a contradiction for the Chinese to follow our industrial example when there has always been such a deep reverence for the natural world and its forces. I'm hoping I'll see some traditional practices still being relevant and will try not to be cynical about modernizations I may not like. I think I've imagined the China of old more so than the China of today. There is much here in the U.S. I'd like to escape while in China, but I know that won't exactly be the case and that would pretty much defy my purpose.