Hi. I haven't posted in over a month, despite promising guest posts and all sorts of things. Why?
Well. As you know, China blocks Blogger. It also blocks Wordpress, YouTube, Facebook and an assortment of other unpredictable websites. I can, for example, get the New York Times and NPR, but not always other news websites that might not like China. Somedays I can get to my gmail, and other days I can't. I CAN usually get e-mail from my phone, but I cannot always respond.
I get around these rules with a VPN, or Virtual Private Network. Essentially, I tell the Chinese Internet that I'm somewhere else and I get to surf the internet as I please as if I were in the U.S., or Australia, or France. That is, until my VPN stopped working.
When that happens, you have no recourse because you need a VPN to find a new one. So, I was unable to update, or check Facebook, or do anything else that Americans often find so essential to their lives.
In some ways it was freeing. I couldn't obsessively check Facebook, for example, and I had to be very intentional about the e-mails I sent to friends and family because it would often take 30 minutes to send one. To complicate matters, I also didn't have internet in my new apartment (more on that later) and so I relied on Starbucks internet and my cell phone. I had to be very particular about Skyping (no internet!) and keeping in touch with family.
I just visited the States and I was able to fix most of the problem. So, you can {hopefully} expect a bunch of new posts, an update {or two!} on the Bucket List and generally seeing me around a lot more.
But keep in mind, that once I get back into China, all good intentions are at the mercy of the Great Firewall.
It's good to be back.
Well. As you know, China blocks Blogger. It also blocks Wordpress, YouTube, Facebook and an assortment of other unpredictable websites. I can, for example, get the New York Times and NPR, but not always other news websites that might not like China. Somedays I can get to my gmail, and other days I can't. I CAN usually get e-mail from my phone, but I cannot always respond.
I get around these rules with a VPN, or Virtual Private Network. Essentially, I tell the Chinese Internet that I'm somewhere else and I get to surf the internet as I please as if I were in the U.S., or Australia, or France. That is, until my VPN stopped working.
When that happens, you have no recourse because you need a VPN to find a new one. So, I was unable to update, or check Facebook, or do anything else that Americans often find so essential to their lives.
In some ways it was freeing. I couldn't obsessively check Facebook, for example, and I had to be very intentional about the e-mails I sent to friends and family because it would often take 30 minutes to send one. To complicate matters, I also didn't have internet in my new apartment (more on that later) and so I relied on Starbucks internet and my cell phone. I had to be very particular about Skyping (no internet!) and keeping in touch with family.
I just visited the States and I was able to fix most of the problem. So, you can {hopefully} expect a bunch of new posts, an update {or two!} on the Bucket List and generally seeing me around a lot more.
But keep in mind, that once I get back into China, all good intentions are at the mercy of the Great Firewall.
It's good to be back.
Holy cow! I'm so tardy for the party...you live in China now?! (no more blogging sabbaticals this girl) You truly inspire me! I cant wait to see what you've crossed off the list.
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