When you live in Beijing and you're back in Europe for the summer.....

1/7/2016

6 months into our Beijing adventure the kids and I have left for Europe for the summer. 6 weeks altogether. A true European summer that will take me to Belgium, Denmark, England, Lithuania and Italy (where our daddy will join us).
It's the first time in years that I'm able to take 6 weeks off (one of the advantages of being on leave from my job) so I wanted to make the most of it.

Things I've done since I arrived in Europe (and that I had really missed):

Catch up with friends, family and colleagues - and oh the frustration of only having 5 days in Brussels and not be able to see everyone. 13 years of friendships for both me and the kids in 5 days - literally impossible!!
Drink water from the tap!! It's something you really miss in Beijing! Something we take for granted in most parts of Europe.
Have a Salade de chèvre chaud (goats cheese salad) in Brussels. In fact I think I had at least 3 :-)
Shop till you drop for cosmetics! A fine example of something that is so NOT convenient to buy in China!
Go for long walks in the forest and by the beach. While I'm still convinced that the air quality issue in Beijing is not defining our life there, you really appreciate fresh, clean air every day here in (northern) Europe.
Be able to COMMUNICATE in languages you know!! Of all the aspects I've had to get used to in China, the most frustrating one is the language barrier!
Eating fresh fish and tons of cheese!! Both available but either very expensive or of rather poor quality in Beijing. The same goes for wine :-)

Yes luckily friends, family, goats cheese and fresh air is only a (long haul) flight away. Watch this space for what I'll be missing in Beijing in a few weeks and how I feel about going back to China.