Where has Edna been, and where is Edna going?

That’s right, I graduated. The last month has been a weird mix of goodbyes and emotions and silly things like that as I left Etown (and soon, home) for good. I also hosted two visiting friends from Australia, who I’d met in Dalian and had come all the way to Central Pennsylvania to see me graduate/turn 21. First lesson of adulthood: hosting people is exhausting.

On top of that, I turned 21. On the same day as graduation, no less. I have to give a shout-out here, for my family threw me an absolutely incredible graduation/birthday party.

So anyway, the eternal graduation question: What now? Well it certainly isn’t more education- after the nightmare that was my thesis, I have no soul left and you couldn’t pay me enough to go to grad school.

So where am I going? Back to China is the logical (and correct) answer, but surprisingly, I won’t be staying long.

I mean, I’m 21 and I’ve already spent a year and half of the last four in China, not to mention all the summers I went to Shanghai. If I go back now, I can see myself easily falling back into the China Bubble, oh that dreaded Bubble, and I want to go out and really challenge myself this time. I mean, there’s so much of the world to see! So I’m realizing my wish to move abroad again and starting a slow-travel RTW (round the world) trip, beginning with San Francisco in two days. I’ll spend a week there, then head back to Shanghai for about five weeks of pure family/friends time, then I’m ….moving to Singapore!

That’s all I’ve got planned so far, I haven’t even a job lined up yet- just a three-week volunteer gig with the Youth Olympic Games that will take me to the end of August. I’m tentatively thinking Australia or the Philippines by Christmas, but I mean with these things… who knows? The last thing I want to do is plan too far ahead.

And if I ever need a backup plan…Shanghai’s not going anywhere.