Where would I like to live?

This is the question from the language test I took today (in order to qualify for my company's transfer program). Though the question was to test my grammar, logic, vocabulary and fluency, it took me at least 1 min before I could come up with an answer. For people who know me well, 1 min is probably the longest time period I can take to think before I open my mouth. So I decide to think more about this question and write a blog entry. =)

The answer I had then was China considering I have lived in 3 countries and visited 29. Come to think more of it now, more accurately it should be Beijing, despite the fact that I am a born & brought-up Shanghainese.

First of all, guaranteed that I want to live in China now because I want to create a big social impact and there is nowhere else more relevant. Meanwhile, regardless how much I love Europe and feel fascinated each time going back here (in Stockholm now), I would like to live somewhere with a bit more chaos and challenges in daily life right now.

Why Beijing particularly? My 3 month project in Beijing has confirmed my love for the city. Of course, biz trips make living in a city easier than it should be. Nevertheless, it was wonderful to meet my old AIESEC friends who compose such a diverse group: entrepreneurs, NGO workers, foreign expats, Chinese who lived overseas, students, artists, etc.

Beijing also strikes me with how much it can offer: listened to Carmen in the National Grand Theatre and I couldn't imagine Carmen to be anyone other than the actress; watched 2 plays of a famous director in a small theatre - one echoed with my all time courage for love and career choices, the other amused me with their insightful jokes on social issues in China; had a few drinks on the roof-top terrace of a small design boutique hotel called "The Emperor" where you get stunned by view of the forbidden city; walked around the forbidden city area including its gardens, parks and lakes where I encountered old groups doing a choir or playing table tennis outdoor; had a delicious late night supper of Sichuanese food (spicy frogs and crayfish) with my Korean colleagues in a small shady restaurant on the street full of red lanterns after a couple of drinks...

So after all, it wasn't too difficult to come up with an answer. What's left is to go for what I really want: the city, the career and the life!