274 posts & counting…

personal: places lived 7

places lived, 2000-2008, Argentina

What’s new, Buenos Aires? That would be me. I’d spent a month earlier in the year getting to know the city & other places in the region as well. I’m still not sure what went through my head: selling most of my possessions, storing a few boxes in Laura & Dan’s garage, getting a new job with Rick Steves in Europe & flying half-way across the world with only four suitcases. But my experience in Cádiz gave me confidence that an international move is possible, even though sacrifices have to be made. After a fitful start, I not only fell in love with Buenos Aires but became obsessed about exploring the city.

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personal: places lived 6

places lived, 1999-2000, USA

As the end of the millennium approached, I found myself in a tricky situation: temporarily homeless & without a job. No worries. I had plenty of options but needed time to figure things out. I returned to my mother’s apartment in Memphis, slept on the couch & occasionally borrowed her car when I needed a bit of breathing room. Mom also got me a temp job… at the same company where she worked & reporting directly to her. A crazy situation, for sure, but she really helped me out. When I could return to Seattle, I had a lot of decisions to make…

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personal: places lived 5

places lived, 1998-1999, Spain, España

What had we gotten ourselves into? Jorge accepted a year-long position as Assistant Director for the University of Washington study abroad program in Cádiz, & we suddenly were off to Spain. Just like that. Jorge had at least been to Europe before, but for me this was another moment like Seattle in 1994: moving somewhere without any prior visit. Oh well, live & learn. I needed to get out of an awful job + going to Europe had been a lifelong dream. I crammed in as many language lessons as I could before leaving, & our rental agency even agreed to let us sublet the Seattle apartment. Everything seemed to come together… except we didn’t have a place to live upon arrival. Details, details.

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personal: places lived 4

places lived, 1994-1998, USA

Why not move across country? In Memphis I had a full-time laboratory job, a part-time weekend job at the YMCA, & plenty of time in between to hang out with friends. But I got restless. No doubt those two visits to San Diego during college inspired me to keep looking west. So in 1993, I took the GRE & applied to four graduate schools in East Asian/Chinese studies. Most of the best programs were on the West Coast, & grad school finally convinced my family to support me leaving Memphis. Things happened quickly though: I was accepted to the University of Washington in March 1994, quit my job in May then moved everything to Seattle in July… without ever having visited the city before!

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personal: places lived 3

places lived, 1988-1994, USA, Memphis

College time! I applied to several across the entire US & was accepted to most, so the decision was not easy. Northwestern University in Chicago seemed perfect, but financial aid figures just didn’t add up. My mom’s income couldn’t handle the extra cost. In the end, being a Tennessee resident meant that I qualified for extra grants if I stayed in-state. Plus, I’d won a hefty Rotary Club scholarship that could only be used locally. So I stayed put in Memphis. Rhodes College may be an expensive, private university, but I went almost for free. And I got to live on campus…

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