Monthly Recap: June and July 2018

It's been a hectic few months and it shows no sign of settling down. Here's what I got up to for the past two months!


Where I Went

London, UK

China: Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Shangri-la, Lijiang, Kunming, Xingping, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Zhoushan, and back to Beijing.

Scotland: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Isle of Skye, North Coast 500, Ullapool, Durness, John O'Groats, Orkney, Pitlochry, Fort William, Mull & Iona, Loch Lomond, Kilchurn Castle, Rannoch Moor and Glencoe, Loch Ness and Drumnadrochit, Perth

What I Read

Lost Horizon by James Hilton - This is the book that made Shangri-la famous. It's a surprisingly riveting novel. I couldn't put it down. If you don't want to go to Shangri-la after reading this, I can't understand. It presented quite the mystery.

Great Leaps: Finding Home in Changing China by Colin Flahive - I devoured this book in 1 day (to be fair, it's pretty short). I would recommend this book to anyone who wants an insight into what it's like living in modern China. I think it's a fantastic book and is emotionally gripping. It made me want to start a cafe in China and live in Kunming!

I'm currently working on a few more: The Tower of Five Glories by C. P. Fitzgerald and

Travels with Myself and Another: Five Journeys from Hell by Martha Gellhorn.

What I Listened To

I found a few Chinese songs on my trip to China this time and listened to them throughout my trip:















Jiangyang Zhuoma was the first Chinese singer I got into - I love her voice and her music. She is ethnically Tibetan from Sichuan, so she released an album all in Tibetan (normally she sings in Mandarin). I have only been able to find this album on some Chinese music app, but it is such a beautiful album with some nice Tibetan folk music.

As far as podcasts, I've been really into Adulting, which has just come back for a second season. It's about navigating the world of being an adult. So far the episodes have touched on disability and growing up with mental health and body image issues. They've been very emotional but important interviews. I've also just realized I love interviews of pretty much any kind. I think I have mentioned on the blog before about the Emma Guns Show - she also did an episode about depression and it was a really good interview.

What I Watched

Sense8 - I watched the first season of Sense8 when it came out summer of 2015, but they cancelled it after one season. It's back for a second season on Netflix. I re-watched the first season then watched the second season - all in about a week. It's really intense and every episode makes you realize how little you know about what's going on. Such an interesting show!

Challenges

The biggest challenge has been finding a job, though this has been something I have been working on for the past three or four months. I have sent at least 50 applications and haven't had any luck yet in figuring out what happens after university. Only time will tell, I suppose...

Travelling for two months also proved to be a challenge. I didn't intend to be travelling for so long, but that's just the way things happened. It was obviously amazing, but it did start to wear me down. By the time I got back to Edinburgh, I was dying to just stay put and get my life organized. That in itself is proving to be the next challenge.

Highlights

Travelling for two months was pretty crazy. I've never really travelled for that long - though I did have a handful of days between some of the trips (never more than two or three days). I got to see a lot of Scotland, I spent a week in London, and I spent a month backpacking around China playing tourist and seeing friends. I am so glad I got gallivant around after working so hard during fourth year.

Speaking of fourth year, I graduated! I got my results in the beginning of June and I graduated at the beginning of July with first class honours! I'm so relieved it's over now - definitely got a bit burned out by the final stretch of fourth year. I'm really looking forward to whatever's next.

What's Up Next?

Well... In general, I don't know what's next. I'm applying for loads of jobs and internships all over the place. I will be leaving Edinburgh mid-August so I know in the short term I will be working part time and enjoying a few weeks of summer while wrapping things up here. After that, I have no idea what will happen.