Moving On

I've just finished 98 percent of my packing in my apartment.

My friend helped me tape up boxes and pack up kitchenware, and odds and ends, then moved all my suitcases and boxes into the living room to get ready to move tomorrow morning.

I can't believe how much stuff I've accumulated in two years.

However, I can't survive without my vacuum cleaner even though I don't have disposable bags for it, and I need the humidifier in the winter when the air is really dry. Pots and pans are a must along with bedding, clothes, coats, shoes and even a tennis racquet.

In the last few weeks I've "stolen" a few cardboard boxes from the office and disposed of old clothes, newspaper clippings, old magazines and shoes. And yet I still have a mountain of stuff.

But from tomorrow I'll be starting a new life -- a new job and a new apartment.

I left my office for the last time today, with tears welling up as I said goodbye to people I'd seen day in, day out for the past two years.

They learned a little bit of what foreigners think of China and the finer points of English, while I got to know what young people in China are like and issues that concern them.

Many came by my desk to say goodbye, giving me their cellphone numbers to keep in touch, and a few even giving small gifts, from a mug and a key chain, to a jade bracelet.

For them it was only a small token of appreciation for the help I'd given them in my time there, and it was overwhelming for me to realize how much I'd affected them professionally and personally.

After I settle into my new home, I'll be energized to give as much energy, passion and devotion as I have to my old job to my new one.

My new colleagues are eager to learn and I'm just as enthusiastic to give too.

Although I'll miss my coworkers and all the work we did together, it's time for me to move on and take on a new challenge.