A little life update… I’m going back to China!
And going back in time with these photos from Baby Andrea! In my 20s, I lived in Beijing and co-owned a few restaurants with other foreigners and one local.
And now, 20 years later, the local, Lucy (who I have stayed close with) is the sole owner, and she’s bringing me back to help out. My mandarin is a little rusty, but enough to have some fun!
The plan is a mix of getting back into it and seeing things with fresh eyes: sitting in on team meetings and offering input on company culture + customer service.
Bringing new ideas to the menus . . .
Creating a game plan for a light reno/refresh of one of the spaces!
But beyond the work, there are a few things I’m really looking forward to.
Having dinner with my old team is number one. The local crew of team leaders who felt like my family back then . . . one in particular, who I gave his English name, Ryan, after my brother, and who I can’t wait to introduce to my son, 'Jax Ryan'. It gets me emotional just thinking about it.
Speaking of Jax - I’m bringing my boys!!!
They’ll be fully immersed in a completely different culture, help me at the restaurants some days, have the freedom to explore on others and together we’ll do some pretty fun exploring (and shopping)!
But the biggest part for me is this:
I want my boys to see that life isn’t one straight path. That you can have different chapters, different versions of yourself and build meaningful relationships that last decades.
If you curious to follow along I'll be posting stories to instagram @therisesociety.co
XO,
Andrea
Comments (1)
Interesting story, thanks for sharing!