Gotta Start Somewhere...

Ok, so. I'm moving to China. Saturday. Like 2 days from now.

And I am terrified. Excited, but terrified.

So what do I do? Post it on the internet for everyone to read. Because that's what we should all do with our innermost thoughts, yes? No. But I do want people to know that I am still alive while over there, so my goal is to keep it updated with some regularity. So that ya'll all know I'm still alive.

I'm fairly sure I'm expected to sign a confidentiality contract when I get to Macau, so I may not be able to write much about the show (at least before it opens) but I will write about my misadventures in the city, of which we all know there will be many.

The Basics:

I'm living on an island called Macau. It is approximately 11 square miles and the population density is somewhere around 48,000 people/sq mi. That's a LOT of people. In an ITTY BITTY living space. It was a Portugese holding until 1999 and under the terms of cession to China, it is a special administrative region (or SAR) of China and mostly autonomous until at least 2049. Which is good. Macau itself is known as the "Las Vegas of the East" which is also good because I don't speak a lick of Cantonese. Or Portugese. Both of which are official languages on the island. It's a HUGE tourist destination, with a lot of ex-pats from what I understand. The island operates on military time and the metric system. Neither of which I am comfortable with. (BREAK OUT THE FLASH CARDS.) I can get peanut butter at the grocery store (SCORE). Hair care products are labeled in Chinese (so not a SCORE). There is an area called the Cotai Strip that I will be working on, in a complex known as the "City of Dreams". It consists of 3 hotels, the theater, a couple multimedia theaters (including a "vitrual aquarium"), and a casino, shopping, etc. The Cotai Strip houses a bunch of casinos, hotels, and touristy destinations.

I have packed my life into 3 suitcases, a duffle bag, and a backpack. It's not a lot. I do have to leave some stuff here. God bless my parents for putting up with me. Thanks for holding off a little longer on that sewing room, Mommy.

Confession: I'm sad to leave Louisiana. I'll miss my friends (and those from everywhere, not just here), my family, my pets. But I'm sad every time I leave it. It's my home and I love it. For better and for worse. But when my friend was applying for a job in Macau (SCORE for built in roommate, because she got the job!) I kep telling her she couldn't say no if she got the job. I can't be a hypocrite. But I can still be sad.