A year ago today I left Shenzhen for a 3 week holiday in India, never having even an inkling that I wouldn’t be able to go back to my home of 9 years.

So many things have happened since then – some good, some bad, and pretty much all of them emotional in some way, shape or form. Right now I’m feeling too many emotions to name and I don’t quite know what to do with myself.

It’s been months since I updated this blog (April last year was my last post) and I will probably write about everything that has happened since then in more detail – just not right now. I think I just want to write out everything that’s in my head to try and make sense of it all. Although that’s probably easier said than done!

Perhaps I should do a summary of my year…

21 January 2020: Left Shenzhen, China, where I’d lived since 2011, and went on holiday with 4 friends to India with only hand luggage.

February 2020: Told that my school was going to online teaching and my flight back to Shenzhen was cancelled. Instead flew to Kazakhstan (via Dubai and Bahrain) to stay with my then gf as there were no cases there at the time. School reopening dates kept getting moved back as cases escalated in China. Was also applying and having interviews for jobs for the next academic year.

March 2020: Had to leave Kazakhstan as my visa was only for 30 days, decided against going back to China as cases were still rising, instead went to Thailand to stay with friends. Was offered and accepted a job in Myanmar starting in August. Booked a flight back to Shenzhen for 1st April. Flight was cancelled. Booked a new flight for 27th March. Wasn’t allowed on it as the Chinese government closed the border to foreigners at midnight on 27th March, even though my flight was due to land at 11.20pm. Got stuck in Thailand. Still teaching online.

April 2020: Told by my school that I could no longer teach remotely and they would stop paying me when the children went back to school in May. Myanmar government closed their border. Couldn’t go back to China, couldn’t go forward to Myanmar. Still staying with the same (amazing) friends in Thailand. All on lockdown.

May 2020: Thailand still mostly locked down. Chinese border still closed. Students at my school in China went back into school and I stopped working after 9 years at the same place. Myanmar border still closed and the government keeps extending the closure by two weeks at a time.

June 2020: Used all my spare time as I was no longer working (or being paid) to study towards my masters in education. Chinese border still closed. Lease on my apartment in Shenzhen ended. Spent hours on video calls to my flatmate (who I’d never lived with add she moved in in March) going through everything I own to either get rid of or pack for me to be sent to Myanmar. The Myanmar government extended the border closure again, this time until the end of July which was when my Thai visa ran out. I couldn’t go back to China, I couldn’t go forward to Myanmar and on top of that I couldn’t stay in Thailand. Booked flight back to the UK.

July 2020: Arrived in the UK on 4th July. Got dumped a few days later. Went clothes shopping as I was fed up of the week’s worth of clothes I’d been wearing for the last 6 months. Decided to make the most of my time in the UK before starting my new job in Myanmar in August, and spent the time with friends and family I hadn’t seen for a year (and went on a couple of dates!). Met someone wonderful and completely unexpectedly fell head over heels. All my belongings arrived at my new school in Myanmar. Myanmar government extended the border closure.

August 2020: Started my new job in Myanmar remotely online. Because of the time difference started work at 3.15am. Went to Myanmar embassy in London and applied for my visa. Myanmar government extended the border closure.

September 2020: Spent lots of (socially distanced) time with friends and family (and my special someone). Still teaching remotely in Myanmar. Myanmar government extended the border closure.

October 2020: Still teaching remotely in Myanmar. Celebrated my Mum’s and my birthdays in the UK for the first time in 9 years. Myanmar government extended the border closure.

November 2020: Moved in with my new partner and so have a proper home of my own for the first time since January. Still teaching remotely in Myanmar. Myanmar government extended the border closure.

December 2020: Celebrated Christmas in the UK for the first time in 7 years, not quite with family as planned due to the restrictions, but lovely nonetheless. Still teaching remotely in Myanmar. School announced that we would be continuing to teach online until April. Myanmar government extended the border closure.

January 2021: Co-hosted an awesome online New Year’s Eve party celebrating New Year in every time zone in the world (I co-hosted Myanmar, Kazakhstan, Nepal and India; for anyone interested the party is still going here: thelong.party) Set up a new home office for me to teach from as I’m still teaching remotely in Myanmar, and will be until at least April. Currently trying to arrange for my belongings to be shipped from my school in Myanmar to the UK. It’s been a year since I’ve had my stuff and I’d rather not have to re-buy all the things I already own, however, it’s proving to be difficult and expensive and so is taking much longer than I’d hoped.

So that brings us all up to date. What started off as a Facebook status has turned into a bit of a long post, but evidently I needed to write it all out.

Despite – or perhaps because of – all the ups and downs, I am really happy to be at home in the UK. I’m also eternally grateful to everyone who has been there for me over the last year, in whatever form that has taken. I love you all very dearly and I know my life would be so much poorer without you in it.

Here’s to the next year and the surprises it may bring!