I am sitting in the airport at Atlanta, jacked up on caffeine and blasting electrohouse because hey – who needs a consistent sleep schedule anyway? It’s the perfect environment to start writing a blog to document my three month stay in Beijing this summer of 2012. Ah! If you didn’t know I was going to China, then I guess that just spoiled the surprise. But yes, for a variety of reasons including wanderlust, a desire to be able speak Chinese, and Peking duck, I am going across the Pacific and not coming back until the school year starts up again in August.

A quick overview of what has lead up to this point: After applying to a range of study-abroad programs, I decided to go with USC, my home institution. The program consists of two months of language classes at Capital Normal University in Beijing, after which I will (hopefully, the details will be worked out when I get there) be interning at a Chinese company for another month. USC’s draw was both its focus on learning by talking with people on the street, as well as its generous subsidies because I was already a student.

So, friends, family, and fellow tumblrs, this blog is my way to communicate with you. I hope you like it, and I equally hope it satiates any need to call or text me at international rates to see how I’m doing. Besides, I really like it when friends tell stories about their fun and exciting trips, and I have every intention of making this trip fun and exciting. I’ll try to post updates every couple days. I think I might also do a series on modern day China’s position in the world – an overview of the economy, government, international relations, etc, to fill out the blog and give some context to my stay there. You know, just for you guys. Leave comments! It satisfies my inner attention whore and lets me know that people are actually reading this thing.

I’ve got my visas, I’ve got my tickets, and all my plans are set. But right now, I’m just excited. I’m going to China! This is me right now sitting in the airport:

It should be a good three months.