I am going to attempt a writing challenge which is to write a blog post a day for 30 days based on prompts.  I haven’t been writing as much as I would like so maybe this will kick me into gear.  The first prompt is “Explain your blog’s name”.

“Down the Rabbit Hole”  is an English-language idiom that refers to getting deep into something or ending up somewhere strange or unknown.  It is also a metaphor for something that transports someone into a wonderfully (or troubling) surreal state or situation.  Lewis Carroll introduced the phrase as the title for chapter one of his 1865 novel “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”.  After this, the term slowly entered the English vernacular.

For those of you old enough to remember “MySpace”, my dabble in blogging started here.  Of course, that platform has changed dramatically since its inception.  However, I was able to salvage some of those blog posts and hopefully, they are on my computer back in Warren, Ohio.

When I decided to move to Paris in 2014, I also knew I wanted to document my experience living abroad.  I like to write, and blogging seemed perfect.  Although I felt comfortable in Paris, at 52 years old, moving to a foreign country solo was a step into the unknown that hopefully would transport me to a wonderful, even surreal experience in la ville lumiere.  Hence, Down the Rabbit Hole was born and introduced on Facebook on September 2, 2014, with these words and pictures; “  Tonight’s sunset….visited a lot of beautiful places today…can’t explain the beauty of Paris and totally can’t explain my obsession with this place…..but follow my blog and I will do my best to tell the story…..I have named my blog Down the Rabbit Hole…Journey to the Unknown.”

The pictures that accompanied the post were from my flat which had a view of the Sacre Coeur and the Eiffel Tower.  I maintained the blog while I was in Paris.  When I returned to the States and before I left for China, it was neglected.

I moved to China in August 2015.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get back into writing my blog.  I relied on Facebook to keep everyone in the loop as to my adventures in the Middle Kingdom.  Then, in February 2017, I was relocating to my fourth city in China, Dong’e in Shandong Province.  Something prompted me to start my blog again.  My bad…I didn’t keep up my domain or my WordPress account. Down the Rabbit Hole…Journey to the Unknown was lost and Down the Rabbit Hole My Adventures in the Middle Kingdom was born “again”.

Facebook Post February 20, 2017  (slightly ironic I chose to start this challenge almost 7 years to the date from when it was reborn)

“On Thursday, I will be boarding a train to take me to the 4th city I will call home in China, Dong’e City, also in Shandong Province, the same as Qingdao.  What little I know is it is a small city between Liaocheng and Jinan, similar to Xiashan. Jinan is the capital of Shandong Province, although it is closer by about 60 km to Liaocheng.  I will be working 2 days per week, Saturday and Sunday, at a Children’s Activity Center, about which I also know very little.  I was told my main duties would be to correct the children’s pronunciation and get them interested and have fun learning English.  Since I will have Monday through Friday off, hopefully, to do some traveling, I have also decided to attempt another blog.  It is called Down the Rabbit Hole~My Journeys (this was later changed to Adventures) in the Middle Kingdom.  It can be found at https://wendyjmarvin.wordpress.com/

I hope some of you will follow, comment, and ask questions.  Now, I must begin to pack as I will be moving partially by China Post since there is no way I can pack everything I have accumulated and carry with me on the train.  For those of you on my side of the world, have a great Monday. Good night, and pleasant dreams to those of you on the other side.”

Although the job turned out to be slightly different than I originally thought, it was a wonderful experience.  I ended up teaching Kindergarten a few days a week for a few hours per day and did some tutoring in my home.

I left China in July of 2019 and did a bit of traveling in Vietnam and had an extended stay in Bali.  I  moved to Poland in February of 2020 and started teaching Business English.  I lived in Poland throughout the pandemic.  I have had many opportunities to travel around Europe adding several new countries to my list.  I have spent 3 summers (most likely a 4^th this year) working at a youth language camp on the Black Sea in Bulgaria and have added a new continent (Africa) and 3 African countries (Egypt, Morocco, and Tanzania) to my travels.  No longer in the Middle Kingdom, my blog name needed updating and it is currently; Down the Rabbit Hole…My Adventures in the Middle Kingdom and Beyond.

I plan to leave Poland at the end of this year and embark on an extended period of travel.  Will Down the Rabbit Hole get a new name?  Only time will tell.

 

 

“The little girl could not sleep because her thoughts were way too deep                     her mind had gone out for a stroll and fallen down a rabbit hole.”                               The End

Author Unknown.