A Year of Living Bloglessly

Hello?...

Hello?...

Is anyone still here?

(taps microphone)

Yes, well, in spite of our best intentions, things do not always go as we plan. I had fully intended to continue blogging about the endlessly fascinating time I've been having living in China the past year. However, it turns out that, of the various websites that the Chinese government blocks, Blogger is one of them.

For much of the year, I took this as a divine hint. A providential nudge. Loose lips sink ships, after all, and a fortiori careers. I can endure living bloglessly for a year, I thought. But two things have now happened. My contract at the university where I've been teaching the past year has been renewed for another 12 months, with additional renewals after that a viable possibility (moreover, the current state of the industry in Sydney doesn't give much incentive for coming back anytime soon). So it looks like I might be living in China for the foreseeable future. Also, now that it's the holidays and I've had a couple of weeks back home before returning to China for the new semester, a number of people have prevailed upon me to take up blogging again, at least in some capacity. Finally, the itch to write will not endure suppression for another 12 months.

.....three things. Three things have happened.

Accordingly, blogging will transpire this year. By which I mean I will blog. Not being able to access Blogger, I have set up a new blog with Wordpress (which, mysteriously, is not blocked by the Chinese government- maybe Blogger has a higher percentage of political blogs or something). The address is www.glennabolas.wordpress.com. Necessarily, the new blog will have to be rather different from this one. Obviously I can't talk quite as much about religion, or at least not as freely, and the same goes for politics (and, I suppose, history to an extent). I will try to compensate with cultural stuff and interesting expat observations. I conceive of it as also being a vehicle for those of my students who are interested to practice their English reading and for me to practice a bit of Chinese writing as well. So something for everyone.

So to all of my readers who remain (both of you), migrate along with me; the best is yet to be.