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Five months ago I set out, with a challenge, to see more of the world. I wanted to know the world and I wanted it to know me. I was 24 years old and, even though I had traveled before, living and working abroad was certainly unknown to me. I used the next 5 months to set together a foolproof plan to travel and live abroad, making sure there was not a single unknown. I had organised flights, accommodation and a paid internship teaching English in China. I quit my job and pat myself on the back for doing well in conquering 'the unknown'. Oh, boy did 'the unknown' have a big surprise for me! In late December, two weeks before I was scheduled to leave for China, news of a viral infection, spreading through a city in China, reached my phone. The information was alarming and was soon followed by many worried messages from friends and family members urging me to not go. I received notice that my trip would be postponed, indefinitely, before I had time to make up my mind. The Unknown was hitting me from every side. I found myself unsure about if I still wanted to go through with my trip. I had gone back to work, resentfully, to help support myself in this time of limbo. It was in this time of in-between that I had to deal with a whole new dimension of the unknown. I was receiving unimaginable amounts of information about the situation in China. People were pulling me apart trying to help guild me in my decision, whether to go or not. I was speaking to people who had just got back from China. I was communicating with the Chinese suppliers that I worked with for my job. I was getting in touch with anyone who could help. It felt like the more I tried to learn about the situation the more unknown it became. The longer I looked for an answer the more I understood that the answer was unknown. It was not just unknown to me but to everyone. The only way i would know is if i went. I waited to hear back from my school, all while toiling away at my 9 to 5 job. The situation seemed to stabilize a bit, our ports opened to china and I heard news of schools opening up and English teachers returning to China. I finally got news back from my school. They were unsure about dates but wanted the teachers to be in China by early March. In this conversation, I was given the option to forgo my contract and stay in my country. I sat with this option for a long time, unable to see if it was a blessing or trail to overcome. I thought about doing more research or talking to more people but finally realised that everyone I spoke to gave me a different story, a different fear or a different glance of hope but no one could give me an answer. I settled on going, as i said before, the only way I would know is if i went to see for myself. I had to go see or I would forever feel like I let go of a dream without even trying. I had to try, even if it seemed reckless to travel to China during the outbreak. I eventually responded back to my school in China say that I would be will to travel in March, even though in truth I was unsure about if i would really get on the plane. I am scheduled to leave on 2 March 2020. I am terrified to the bone but I must satisfy my curiosity. My curiosity has pushed me to do what many people advise against but it has returned great gifts of knowledge and experience. It is a bold and brave curiosity. I hope that when I return from my travels in China that World Nomads will help me share my curiosity and the answers it leads me to with the world.