And so it begins.

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

If you’re reading this, there’s a 90% chance that you are either related to me, have lived with me, or are one of those social media friends that just sort of follows along with things that are posted even if we don’t really talk. (We all do it, no shame.)

But, in the event that you do not fall into one of those categories: Hello! I’m Madison. I’m 27 years old, I’m a theatre artist, and in about a month I will be moving from Philadelphia, PA across the world to live in Shanghai, China.

Before I move forward, let’s take a step back. My first time leaving the States was in December of 2012, on a school theatre trip to London with my university. I loved every minute of it, and was convinced that I must someday live in London. (To be honest, I am still very much convinced of that.) Post college graduation, two of my close friends from high school and I went on a month long trip to Zimbabwe and South Africa that widened my horizons and sparked something in me that wouldn’t go away. Meeting new people that spoke new languages, seeing animals in the wild I’d only ever seen in zoos before, witnessing the majestic beauty of our planet, being exposed to cultures different from my own… I was hooked. Annoyingly so – I wouldn’t shut up about it. (To this day, any time Africa is mentioned, my best friend looks at me and says, “Hey, Madie… didn’t you go to Africa??”)

In the summer of 2018, my next big year of traveling began. In June, my family and I went on a “heritage trip” to Norway & Sweden, where my mom’s side of the family is from. We were able to meet distant family we have that live over there, visit the farms where our family has lived and worked for thousands of years, and admire the extraordinary beauty that is the landscape in Norway. In Sweden, we did some more family hunting; there’s a family legend that my great-great-great-great grandfather was Karl XIV Johan, King of Norway and Sweden from 1818 until his death in 1844. In Stockholm, we were able to see the palace where he lived and ruled, the church where he is buried, etc. (It’s a fascinating story, though perhaps for another day.)

Following that summer, I went on an 8 month national tour of a children’s theatre production of The Phantom Tollbooth. From October through May, I was on the road performing for thousands of children. We hit 76 cities and 37 states (though we didn’t have performances in all of them) and I was able to explore parts of the country I had never seen before. I was especially excited to hit the west coast, and all of the national parks over there! Seeing the sequoia trees was a special bucket list event for me; feeling both so small, and yet a part of something so massive, was incredibly powerful.

However, in the few weeks we had off from the tour – we had short breaks both in December and in February – in true Madison fashion, rather than stay home and relax, I packed my bags and headed out to do some exploring. In the week leading up to Christmas, a friend and I flew over to Eastern Europe to spend some time in & around Budapest, Hungary and Sofia, Bulgaria. The holidays in Eastern Europe are magical! The architecture, the thermal baths, the FOOD!! What I would not give to have just one more kürtöskalács (chimney cake) fresh from the holiday market!

During my time off in February, a friend and I went down to visit her sister in Ecuador. This was my first time in South America (one of my goals is to hit six continents before I turn 30 – only two more to go!) and it was amazing! We saw the equator in Quito, biked around Baños, hiked in Cotopaxi National Park, relaxed in Azogues, got tattoos in Cuenca… We even got to participate in a city-wide water fight for Carnival!

Okay Madison, we get it, you like to travel.

So how did all of that lead me to Shanghai? After finishing my tour, I was starting to feel like it was time for me to leave Philly. I’ve been living here for ten years now, which, for a person who grew up as a military kid, is a LONG time. I tossed around the idea of doing my own “Eat Pray Love” type year, though for me I wanted more of a “Learn Work Grow” experience… though hopefully with some eating, praying, and loving still involved as well. Around September, I started actually thinking about it, looking up various work exchange programs in hostels, found a few theatre training programs I’d like to enroll in, etc. I figured I’d stay in Philly for one more year and head out next fall, if I could pull this off.

Then, in early October, fate intervened. I woke up to a host of Facebook notifications – a friend and former teacher of mine had reposted a status that read “Hey drama teachers! Does anyone want to move to China? The school I’ve been working at is looking for a new theatre teacher starting in February.” Thinking there was very little chance of it happening, but worth a shot, I commented “Messaging you now. I would pack my bags tomorrow.” I sent in my resume, and two Skype interviews later, I was offered the job.

Four months ago, I could never have predicted that in this moment I would be packing up my house and preparing to move, alone, across the planet. Four months ago, I could never have predicted that I would get a job teaching theatre at a private school, let alone at a private school in one of the biggest cities in the world. In four months, my life has completely changed direction from where I thought I would be. Just imagine what the next four months could bring.

As corny as it sounds, I truly believe that this is all happening now because I asked for it. I opened myself up to the idea of living overseas, I started putting that out into the universe, and it felt as though this opportunity was dropped into my lap. I do not take that for granted. There will be highs and lows, I’m sure – there already have been, but more on that later – but I am just so excited and ready for this next step in my journey. And who knows, maybe Gandalf was right: there’s no knowing where I’ll be swept off to next.