A Turtle Above the Sea

Shanghai, or in Chinese, 上海， literally means "Above the Sea" in Chinese, is not only the largest city in China by population, but also the largest city proper in the world by the same measure. A busy and bustling city situated at the Yangtze River delta, it is also going to be my new home.

The term "Sea Turtle", or 海龟／ 海归, which sounds like "returner from the sea", is a Chinese phrase to describe overseas Chinese or overseas-educated Chinese who opt to return to China to either work or settle. While my personal mission is not crossing the oceans to literally crawl back on shore, dig in the sand and lay eggs... (Can't seem to get the National Geographic documentary I saw on Netflix out of my mind... National Geographic can sometimes be quite, you know, graphic) it's not a far-fetched metaphor for my professional aspirations.


What will this blog be? While mostly a personal journal to document my returner life across the Pacific and blunders / bombshells in re-adjusting to the Chinese daily life, I'm hoping that my rants and musings can serve as a sounding board for those sharing the same path.

So here we go, it's Year of the Dragon, one must dream big and bold. 1-2-3, the paddling begins.

Staying in the current