That quote is from Lulu, one of my students at Jiaxing University. I could not have said it better myself!

In one quick sentence, Lulu encapsulated my mindset in 2010. Beyond thinking about Chile, I’ve been on an occupational adventure.

Projects Completed in 2010 (in chronological order, with some overlap, for various companies/clients):

• Trained 6 Chinese patent attorneys in advanced, specialized English for four months (as part of a 14-month intensive program)
• Created and delivered 4-part professional skills training for multinational mining company’s admin team
• Led public speaking training for Chinese attorneys
• Authored two quarterly newsletters for employees of a multinational manufacturing company
• Tutored an 8-year-old Chinese-American girl in English (read: playing Barbies and discussing their outfits in precise detail!)
• Conducted survey to benchmark employee engagement among Chinese employees of an American retailer
• Helped a Dutch diplomat brush up her academic English in preparation for a summer course in public diplomacy at the University of Southern California
• Supported Dr. Jane Goodall‘s visit to Beijing, as a volunteer for the Jane Goodall Institute
• Assisted a Taiwanese-American executive with resume editing and job search
• Created blog outreach strategy for Wokai
• Wrote advertisements to generate demand for computers in emerging markets

Note: I’ve only named organizations that could benefit directly from me mentioning them online.

I am so lucky to have such a wide variety of professional opportunities here in China. These assignments have spurred my curiosity, and connected me with all kinds of people.

Special thanks to my Chinese teachers, Layla and Xiaofei, for helping me develop the vocabulary to talk about the aforementioned topics in relatively coherent Chinese.

And yes, to use Lulu’s poetic phrase, “Sometimes, I find myself set in a puzzlement about meanings of life and jobs.”

I think we all do.

I don’t have any grand answers to this puzzlement. But this past year has given me a better sense of what I like.

What may look like an acute case of career attention-deficit-disorder has given me direction. I like variety. I like people. I like possibilities, languages, and stories. And today I took my first step towards building something useful, a platform to help people navigate working in China.  It’s here.  More to come…

My dad took this photo in October 2009, when he and my mom and I went cormorant fishing on Er Hai, near Xizhou, Yunnan Province. I chose this picture because it reminds me that China has bits of blue sky, and simple living. Though this may not be the China I see every day, it does exist, as a place and as a mindset.

What do you do when you feel “puzzlement about meanings of life and jobs”? I’m curious to hear what you think.