Finally got another Mike’s Blog video out – as promised I won’t be as regular but still try to have certain videos of monumental events.
And this one definitely was! We moved out of our Chiang Mai house (pawned a lot of stuff off on Wendy’s Chinese friends) and kept some in storage at the house (new tenant was awesome) – but still a ton of stuff.
Basically kids clothes for FREEZING cold weather, my office gear (video, podcast stuff adds up) and more. Took a Grab Taxi – but got ripped off – the driver wouldn’t take us to the airport (it is banned by Thai government or something) so he got his friend to come – but still charged my app his cost, and Wendy paid the other one in cash. But the landlord helped also drive us (took 2 cars between all the stuff, Wendy, the kids, and me)
Connection in Shanghai. Getting the luggage out at Shanghai, to re-check in and go through security there (what is up with that!) to finally arrive in Shenyang, China around 11am. Took a Didi taxi (notice no Uber in Asia) and got to her family’s hometown area.
Again, we are here because her mom and dad are both very ill, and Wendy will be taking care of them. I can stick around if I want – but the internet in China is so slow / filtered I may as well go to Philippines to spend more time with my partners at Alpha Rock Capital – and the kids will get a semester in Chinese school (Wendy also wants them to practice more Chinese)
So this will be a half year “stint” / phase where we go on a different track, and we all PLAN (we’re accepted into a new school in Chiang Mai we like) to come back in the summer. New house, new school, fresh visa application, fresh start in Chiang Mai – fully prepared.
I think it deserves a dedicated blog / vlog – to talk about the challenges and complexity of a cross-culture marriage. But you just gotta go with the flow and spin it as positive as possible, right? 🙂