An American Expat in China

On Sunday January 8th the months of practice that me and my friends in the Basis Shenzhen Chinese New Years Band was finally put to the test.  We performed in front of 700+ people in a setting with incredibly high production value.  With that said the following recordings were made on a cell phone and likely do not sound as good as they could because microphones have high and low frequency noise reduction.  I wish I could get the official video but unfortunately I am not at liberty to share that footage in this setting.  The venue was lovely, as was the surrounding area.  We performed in the JW Marriot in Bao'an.  These photos were in the park near where I got off the subway.  There was some form of flower and landscaping show going on. I dropped my guitar off at the venue and took some pictures of the koi pond and statues.  Then I went for a walk and got a beer on the board walk.  Then I returned for rehearsal and make-up and had a tall glas...

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 invite...