2022 In the Rear View and 2023 More Adventures For Me
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This post is a bit late because I had to take the time to upload all the videos and select photos that I had accumulated over the entirety of last year. In the spirit of reflection I have included the photos and videos of my travels and adventures over the course of 2022. I wish that I had started doing this kind of thing much sooner. I also wish I was a bit more organized and had these videos dated and labeled beforehand.
Between January and March of 2022 I was hoping to return to El Centro as a science teacher. However, despite having expressed my intent to return I had already prepared my portfolio and was ready to start applying for other work since I did not anticipate getting the offer to return. I was originally hoping to stay in Philly, and had even started looking for a part-time job to occupy myself and earn some extra money during the summer between school years. At first I was a bit upset when I got word in April that I would not be invited to teach at El Centro for another year. Having been told this same thing for three years in row (only for them to change their mind the last two times) it no longer carried the same kind of pain. I was fully prepared to have my contract renewal rejected and had already sent my first application for a teaching position in the US. I had applied in Philly, the rest of PA, and in some other states as well.
In April I took a hike and had some time to reflect on my first hike of the year at Austin T. Blakeslee Natural Area. I meditated by a raging water fall for 30 minutes.
This raging water drowned out all other noise. I was able to find my center and really consider what I wanted in life.
After some reflection on my experiences with the US education system I realized that I had no true desire to really stay there. For the first two years of my career I had taught overseas in Sweden from 2016-2018. In retrospect I had a much more fun and rewarding experience working with an international population even though the pay in Sweden was very low. In late April I decided to start searching for teaching jobs abroad and registered with a few different websites that might help make that dream a reality. Something about being threatened with physical violence on a regular basis, having three students die from gun violence in three years, and having the administration play games with my career turned me off to the American education system. The prospect of higher pay, higher social regard for teachers, and potential adventure attracted me to search in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. I continued to search and interview for positions in Philadelphia and PA, but ultimately set my hopes on a job in some far away exotic land. By May I was already considering offers in places like Mali, Mexico, Kuwait, and Bahrain. I was at liberty to reject all of those offers. In late May or early June I had accepted a job teaching honors biology in Shenzhen, China.
The end of the school year died with a whimper. El Centro, and its parent organization Big Picture Philadelphia, were struggling to maintain their student population. They could not hold on to leadership and the staff felt so disenfranchised and disrespected that they did not even have an end of year gathering to celebrate. I used my last two sick days to end the school year two days early and start my vacation. While January - May offered little opportunity for adventure besides a disappointing ski trip to Camel Back and Blue Mountain in PA at least I had a whole summer to enjoy as much as I could in the US before departing for China.
My vacation started on June 16th with a camping and music festival called BeardFest in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. I had never been to a BeardFest before, and it turns out that this one was their 10th anniversary. This was a wonderful experience but I took no pictures of the venue or the festival. My friend Damon and I booked VIP early bird tickets and enjoyed the added comfort and amenities provided by paying more and showing up early. I met new people there whom I hope to connect with when I return to the US. I may not make it to another BeardFest but I hope to make it to more music festivals in the US.
I visited Harrisburg to get some documents officially authenticated for my arrival in China.
I went to New Jersey's Delaware Water Gap and Stokes State Forest for a camping and hiking trip. In fact I visited the Delaware Water Gap a few times. This is one of my favorite places to visit. It includes many lakes, one of which is called Crater Lake, and I have visited since I was a child. I also visited Hemlock Pond and Blue Mountain Lakes. Despite having been to this area many times in the past I had never visited either of these beautiful locations.
The photos below are from Tillman Ravine and Buttermilk Falls in NJ.
My friend Cory joined me for this trip for a couple days. We camped for a night at the Brink Road Appalachian Trail shelter north of Stokes State Forest. After Cory left I went to the Stokes State Forest to stay in a lean-to shelter. My friend Ashlyn joined me for a night here and we enjoyed songs around the campfire, hiking, and swimming.
After our swim, Ashlyn left and I explored a lot more. I visited Blue Mountain Lakes for the first time and found it to be just as beautiful as Crater Lake.
I hiked around Stokes State Forest where I visited Stony Lake (which I did not swim in out of respect for the wildlife) and a backpackers' tavern called Gyps Tavern.
I finished that trip with a stop at diner with a lovely view of an old weir dam.
I decided to visit my father and step mother in Florida so took a trip to the Orlando area to see them. While there I enjoyed the lovely Floridian climate and splendid state parks.
Wekiva Springs was a bit crowded but the water was clear and refreshing. It was a pretty cool spot for our first visit. My dad got himself a little lost - or maybe more accurately we lost my dad a for a little bit - but other than that we all had a good time.
The next day we got up early to go to Rainbow Springs. This place was a lot less crowded and was a lot more pretty. The water was amazing. The temperature did a number on my dad though and he ended up having to go to the hospital because his blood pressure dropped too low and he felt faint.
The following day I visited Silver Springs. Swimming was not permitted here but I took a boat tour and saw quite a bit of wildlife. Unfortunately most of the birds and gators ended up blurry but the fish showed up in photos as clearly as the water.
This lucky birdo got a full belly of fish. I had just seen it plunge beneath the surface and come back up gulping it down.
The glass bottom boat tour was really cool. It was amazing how deep the water was but because it was so crystal clear the depths seemed to easily reachable.
When I returned to PA from Florida I almost immediately returned to camping. For this trip I returned to the Delaware Water Gap and also visited Round Valley Recreation Area.
I finally visited Hemlock Pond in the Delaware Water Gap. I had, after almost 23 years of visiting this area, finally visited every major body of water in the park.
Round Valley Recreation Area was quite lovely. There was three mile hike to the primitive campsite and I picked raspberries and blackberries the entire way there.
The night after I stayed at the Appalachian Kirkridge Shelter I visited a rock garden called Columcile Megalith Park
Immediately after this camping trip I took a drive to Massachusetts's to visit my younger brother for his birthday. I visited Salem, Manchester by the Sea, singing beach (which squeaks more than it sings, and camped for the whole time in Harold Parker State Forest.
I enjoyed a few weeks of relaxing and visiting my mother before taking a short adventure with my cousin to Hertlein Campsite on the Appalachian Trail. While we did not camp there, I did light a fire and go swimming. Her boyfriend (now her ex) brought his dog, who adorably tried to rescue me every time I got into the water.
The water was very cold. I was glad I had a fire burning.
Spending time with my cousin gave me covid. While this delayed my departure for China it did not derail my career. As upset as I was by this situation, and I was very upset, I eventually came to realize it was a blessing in disguise. I was scheduled to fly from Philadelphia to Dallas in late August. On the day I was originally schedule to fly to Dallas it flooded A LOT and all flights were grounded/canceled. So, covid or not I would have been delayed. I tested negative after about a week and rebounded, on the day I rebounded the city of Shenzhen announced a lockdown and my students went virtual. I spend a couple weeks stuck in the US, teaching virtually from 12 hours behind, walking to the winery regularly, and testing daily hoping for a negative result. My mother occasionally drove me for PCR testing which meant I got to see her a couple more times before leaving. My symptoms were mild, and thanks to catching it before leaving the US, I have combined immunity that is protecting me from the current outbreak sweeping across China.
When I finally made it out of PA and departed for Dallas I had shed much of my anxiety and changed my perspective to one of optimism.
I stayed for a night by the water in Philly and took my last walk along the John Heinz Trail.
I had to get tested twice in Dallas. I stayed close to the hotel and took care of that fairly easily. I used a rental car to get around and tried to enjoy as much as I could before leaving for China. On arrival I would be stuck in quarantine for 10 days so I needed to get as much adventure in as possible.
My last sunset in the US for 2022.
Since landing in China I have been posting regularly. If you want to see how things have been so far your can read those posts. Just know that I am experiencing so much here, and that every day brings new experiences and excitement. With the borders opening up I have chances to explore. I am dating again like I never dated before. Just last week I went on two dates and brought a gorgeous woman home with me after the NYE party. I hope to cultivate something meaningful with her.
The year to come has much in store for me. Over my Chinese New Year break I have already booked most of my hotels and all of my flights for Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Thailand (Bankok and Phuket). 2022 is behind me now. 2023 is going to be fucking awesome.
To end this post I will share some photos from just the last week and a half. Photos are not in order but are from Downtown Shenzhen, Talent Park, Shenzhen Bay Park, Xiaonanshan, Saturday's NYE Hash, and a New Years Party that I attended with some friends from the hash.
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