2010--the year to blog?

I don't live an exciting life, really nothing to blog about, really don't know what I am doing here. But I have big dreams for this year, life changing stuff, so I thought maybe I should share them.

These dreams mostly involve my interest in Hong Kong. I have watched many Hong Kong films and some tv series. I probably know the names of and can recognize more Hong Kong actors and singers than I can American ones at this point.

I recently finished a MS in TESOL and want to make a career change. I am not young anymore so this is a big, big deal for me. I am way too comfortable in my present career, bored actually would be a better word.

I have been studying Cantonese for years but I don't really practice it outside the classroom so what I know is rather limited. My comprehension is better than my speaking ability. Now that I have finished my degree, I have tried to improve my vocabulary and have started working with a tutor to develop my conversational skills.

Now I am basically a lazy person but I have two concurrent goals that are motivating me right now. My first one is to spend the month of June in Hong Kong. My focus is to work on my Cantonese. I am probably going to do a 3 week class at CUHK. I need to immerse myself in the language. I live within a subway ride of more than one Chinatown but I am a bit shy about my Cantonese here. Only when I am with either my fellow students or Cantonese speakers do I put myself out there. And the responses have been good, it is all in my head, I know that. But if I go to Hong Kong for an extended time (versus a 10 day vacation) I expect that I will have to use it more. This is in the planning stages: I need to apply to the school, make the airplane reservations and find a place to stay while I am there.

My second goal is much bigger, and sometimes seems more like a fantasy of myself versus the real me. I want to teach English somewhere where I can use my Cantonese. Hong Kong would be great but there are other places that would work almost as well. I have never lived overseas nor have I ever taught. It is alot of change all at once and part of me loves this idea and part of me is petrified that I am not flexible enough for that much change all at once. So this is another reason to go to Hong Kong in June and really try to immerse myself, if I can't hack it, then I know this second goal is more fantasy than reality for me.