Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Beautiful Suzhou
I spent most of last week sick. Feverish and just feeling lousy. Monday I started feeling like myself again. But I had a ton of errands to do this morning! Amazing how things pile up when you are not feeling well. I set off to pay for the gas, put more minutes on my cell phone, among other things. Of course as I was doing these things, I floundered along using broken Chinese (and at one point seriously needing the help of a bank employee to know which button to push on the machine that uses only characters). But as I was walking home, I was struck by how much I love it here. Yes, I don't always understand why something is happening. But I look forward to understanding culture more so I do. Yes, things are not familiar. But in fact, I am becoming accustomed to the unfamiliarity. I wonder how the U.S. will feel unfamiliar and different this summer when we visit. Yes, learning Chinese is hard... but also rewarding. Throughout the last 11 months, I have really come to appreciate where we live. While I am really looking forward to visiting the US this summer (less than 2 months!), this is home.
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I can relate. LOVE China, and still it miss it often. And America probably will feel sort of foreign when you're here, though you might not notice it too much this summer since you'll just be visiting. People don't understand how it's often harder to move back "home," but it really is. Not because it's different, rather because it's the same but you're not. Interesting...
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