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Journey to a Foreign Land Alum’s Adventure to China Cut Short

Alum’s Adventure to China Cut Short Story and Video By: Brady Blaylock, Managing Editor of Videography Spark Page By: Andrew Velarde, Assistant Editor of Videography

He looks around at the beautiful mountains and valleys before him. The pictures never really do these serene scenes justice. He breathes in the crisp, fresh air and takes in the moment. Surrounded by his new friends, with completely completely different backgrounds and mindsets, library assistant Daniel Clemmons finds peace.

Clemmons found out that he would not be able to return to Central China because of the coronavirus outbreak after coming home for Christmas in 2019. His return to China kept getting pushed back month by month.

“I live in Central China and it’s really a welcoming and family-oriented place and I have become as integrated as I could,” Clemmons said. “It really does feel like my second home.”

Clemmons found out that he would not be able to return to Central China because of the coronavirus outbreak after coming home for Christmas in 2019. His return to China kept getting pushed back month by month.

“I live in Central China and it’s really a welcoming and family-oriented place and I have become as integrated as I could,” Clemmons said. “It really does feel like my second home.”

After college, Clemmons didn’t know what to do with his degree. After speaking with a friend of his, he decided to begin traveling.

“I realized through him that I should not make some other man’s dream come true and that I should just go through with [my dream],” Clemmons said. “It’s just a coincidence that I enjoyed traveling.”

He began the process of moving to China, and worked hard to get a visa to live there. The move helped him improve his language skills and see more diverse cultures.

“The first bit [of moving] was figuring out how to navigate the bureaucracy of China just to get a visa,” Clemmons said. “I found a way to get a job at a private English school and they offered me a position. There were only three foreigners there out of the two million and it was really great for me.”

When Clemmons came back, the trip was only supposed to last to the end of the holidays. The day before he was going to leave, he got a call from his boss telling him that he had to stay for another month. Currently, Clemmons is working as an assistant in the library/media center at LHS.

“[Being forced to stay home] was more damaging than I had hoped it to be,” Clemmons said. “I underestimated how close I had become to my friends, the people I had spent all of my time with the last three years. I really felt detached, I get messages every day from people saying that they missed me and I didn’t know that was a part of me. Some days I wish I could teleport over there and other days I’m happy to be here in a more stable place.”