A Letter to My Husband, Who Arrives in a WEEK!!!!

Dear Husband, 

Damn, I've missed you! Six months on opposite sides of the planet is crazy, but guess what? We (almost) did it! I love you so much! I cannot thank you enough for supporting me through the roller coaster that moving to China alone is. I love it here, minus the fact that you're 14 hours behind me and 7,000 miles away.... Beijing is amazing, all the craziness aside. Since you're coming to China for the first time in seven days, I should probably prepare you for a few things about life in Beijing:

Prepare to  be pushed, touched, grabbed, in a constant state of claustrophobia, and have no personal space.

There's a lot of people here. A lot. Like nearly 1.4 billion a lot. And they're everywhere. At times it can be hard to walk down a side walk and sometimes getting on a subway is a lightweight sporting event. Just be ready.

Prepare for Beijing's clubs/ Sanlitun Bar Street (aka Sanlitun University). 

The clubs and bar street are so much fun! SO MUCH FUN! There is always something going on out there. I'm dragging you out to at least one club...... and we are going to dance until the morning and drink ridiculous amounts of free champagne! You don't have a choice! 

There's noises that you have never heard before, but you never want to hear again.... at all hours of the day.

Could be construction, could be piano lessons, my roommates stumbling in at four am, horns (lots of horns all the time, everywhere), people throwing a chruar party outside my window, that random guy that rolls by my apartment like a damn rooster and yells because he is looking for work, or kids laughing in the stairwell at midnight. I'm telling you, brace yourself. It's never quite quiet here.

Get ready to see more body fluids than you thought possible.

Kids poop or pee in the street or in the subway or anywhere, people spit all over the place, and I see puke on the ground at least once a day and this is totally normal.

Get ready for horrible, biting, Beijing cold.....

If you thought Oregon was bad, you have NO idea what you're in for. Bring the biggest, warmest coat you've got, any/all pairs of gloves and hats. Seriously, lots of hats. I had to invest in the saddest earmuffs the other day (I secretly love them, shhh). I'd even tell you that you should invest in man-leggings. It's that cold and windy here.

.....and horrific pollution.

Ok- in all honesty, since the APEC Conference we've been ridiculously lucky in Beijing. I am probably jinxing it as I type this, but be ready for anything. You've read the talk on the news (and shared some articles with me I think), now you get to walk the walk. Hey, at least we'll get some fabulous mask selfies!

Get excited for some of the best food of your entire life

Malatang, Baozi, Jiaozi, Tea Eggs, Kung Pao Anything, Great Leap and Slowboat Burgers, incredible craft brews, ridiculous curries,  $0.50 liters of Tsingdao- so bad, but so good, Chruar, Jian Bing,  Soy Fried Rice, Pork Belly, Peking Duck... I could go on for pages. The food here is incredible.

But also, get yourself ready for some stomach problems.

Getting sick from Chinese food is a right of passage.

And mentally prepare to question what you're putting in your mouth, but never truly wanting to ask someone. 

No point. Just don't ask. It's better that way for every one. I fully expect that you'll put something in your mouth that you will immediately spit back out and if I don't hear you exclaim, "WHAT DID I JUST EAT!?" at least once, I'll consider your trip a failure.


Prepare to meet my incredible expat family. 

My expat family is everything to me. They've been some of the most loving and supportive people I've ever met in my life. Honestly, I'd be a little lost without them. I am so excited for you to meet all of these people that I love so very much!

BUT MOSTLY, GET READY TO GET SHOWERED WITH LOVES AND KISSES AND HAPPINESS BECAUSE I CAN NOT WAIT TO SEE YOU!

I haven't been able to give you a hug or a kiss in six months! I'm so excited you're going to be here! You're going to love Beijing, because it really isn't all that bad. Actually, it's pretty amazing. I am so excited for our first big adventure together and I can't wait for you to get off of that plane! Seven days!!!!

Love Always,

Jessie