(6 visas if you include Dan’s)
I know I haven’t written in awhile…aaannnddd this will probably be my last blog post, at least in China. I have three weeks left before I leave, which is really weird to think about. It’s hard to imagine that I’m actually going to see people that I know really soon, even if it’s not for very long. We found out that our lease starts August 10th, so we should be moving in around then.
Story:
So in China, there are lots of people who beg for money. It’s also not uncommon to see people begging on the subway. Sometimes I’ve seen a “blind” man being led by an older hunched over man, the blind man is singing as they walk through the subway cars. One day I’m waiting for a train and I see two men sprinting up an escalator and run to a corner of the wall, definitely trying not to be seen. I thought “they look kinda familiar” and get on the train when it pulls up. Sure enough, not long after the train leaves the same two men, as the blind man with a stick and the old hunched over man with a cane go very slowing through the cars begging for money and singing. I feel like if they can run up escalators faster than me there has to be something they can do besides beg for money, but oh well. I found out later they were hiding from security cameras, because their money might get confiscated when they get off the train.
I’m sad to be going home. There’s a lot I’m going to miss in China. I commute a total of three hours a day and pay less than $1 a day on travel expenses, which I think is pretty amazing. The food here is amazing, but we don’t eat a lot of Chinese food anymore. I know there’s a lot more, but I think I’ve become so used to things here, that I forget that it’s different in the U.S. It’s nice living in the city, and being able to go downstairs if I want a snack, since food is pretty cheap. And it’s nice to look out the window and watch tons of kids playing outside with their parents/grandparents. I also like how Beijing has so many parks and paths through trees and flowers that you see people walking in with their dogs (usually not on leashes, which makes it more awesome). The government (I’m assuming) tries to make Beijing look pretty by having tons of flowers and trees everywhere.
A couple things I WON’T miss is having to look for the characters red and green in random food to make sure there’s no red bean or green tea in things. It’ll also be nice to be invisible again, and not have random people say hi and/or good morning to you just because they know how, or having strangers ask for your phone number so they can practice their English. I also don’t believe people actually flush toilet paper.
Dan’s leaving on Wednesday. The day after he leaves I’m going to take a weekend trip to Xi’an, where I went two years ago. I’m extremely excited to go back, and the people there are really excited too.
Looking back, this trip was amazing. It was lots of fun to live in a completely different culture and see how other people live and survive. I think I’ve changed a lot, and have become a more independent and outspoken person, at least when it comes to working with people and interviews and stuff. I’m going to miss my students a lot, especially the two that I’ve been tutoring every weekend since October. They’re really sad that we only have two more lessons left.
My flight back will be interesting. I’m leaving at 7:30am on Saturday (my time) and getting back at noon on Saturday EST. If I stay up all night, maybe I’ll be able to sleep on the plane and kind of help get over 12 hour jetlag, but we’ll see.
Not sure how many people actually read this, but I'm glad someone is. I hope you've had fun following our adventure, and that you were at least slightly entertained along the way.
