Oh, By the Way, I made it back to America

I've got some 'splaining to do.
(This may be a really long post.)

I pretty much dropped off the map after last December and for several reasons. First, my final exams for the semester were coming up and I was getting more and more serious about studying. I had a ton of stuff to read and not enough time to prepare. Second, I was reaching a point of no return with my studies; I expected to receive less than the amount of credit I wanted for that semester, so I had to decide between staying and risking another slow semester or returning to the U.S. and focusing on graduating in time. I chose the latter option and have been back in the U.S. now for almost eight months. And finally, last semester and this summer had me mired in schoolwork... I basically had to "make up for lost time" while chillin' in Shanghai.

Anyway, now I'm back and comfortably settled at my American university, where I still have a semester and a half to complete before graduation. So... why am I revisiting this blog? (Here's the exciting part...)

I'm leaving the country again!

One thing I've grown to understand better and better as I progress through college is that I will die/lose my sanity if I become a corporate slave/government drone as soon as I graduate. Who wants to do that when they're 21?

Not this guy. So I've decided that I'm going abroad to work for a year.

My destination? Korea.

"But Zhen Ning!" you cry, "You're a sinophile! A Confucius, nay, a ZHUANGZI wannabe! A hard-boiled egg! 半个中国通! Why would you go anywhere except China??!"

While I can't disagree with any of those accusations, it's simple: I just want a change of scenery. Here are the major reasons I want to go to Korea, in order of importance:

1. Korea is not part of China. (Despite what the Chinese would have you believe.)
2. Korean is a language critical to national security and business that doesn't have many speakers.
3. Korea is like having your Japanese consumerism cake and eating it, too.
4. Korean food is really spicy, and pretty delicious.
5. There's tons of history to see of the kind that was destroyed in China during the (real) Cultural Revolution.
   

That third one refers to the hyperconsumerist culture of Korea (and Japan) without (or maybe just with less of) the hive mentality and passive aggression of the Japanese, important to me because I think that kind of culture is fascinating and because I've had to live in close, confined spaces with Japanese people (a large minority of my Fudan dorm were Japanese, as well as many of my friends).

So how am I going to survive in Korea? Well，since Korea has a lot of white people and a much smaller population than China, I won't get nearly as many brownie points (or beers) simply because of my ethnicity. No, in Korea I will have to work for a living, but with my dashing good looks and natural talent, I'll soon be making MILLIONS of Korean won per year!

What talent, you ask? Why, speaking English, of course! (A million won is about 900 US dollars.) Though I've never had a burning desire to teach English, it looks like my only meal ticket in Korea. But hey, it'll be fun, and I'll definitely learn a thing or two in the process (besides soju drinking games). More updates soon! (a.k.a. within the next six months)

안영!

真甯