China Stories

Well here we are again.  It's been a long time.  For those of you who don't know, I'll be flying out of China on a one-way ticket this summer.  I'll depart Hong Kong for London on July 15th, London for Iceland on August 3rd (because why not?), and Iceland for Washington, D.C. on August 7th.  It's like a nice little backtracking of my past four years abroad (except for Iceland, but hey you've got to do new things).  

Which also leads to the craziness of realizing that it really has been four years since I lived in America, and that the latter three years spent in China have only included one trip home to America.  So American friends, please deal gently with me.  I've got a lot to process.  And while I know things have changed at home and your lives have moved on, for me America is still the America of four years ago.  I've seen the changes on Facebook and in the news, but while I know these things have happened they are not my reality.

That may sound like a downer, but I am very excited to be coming home!  I'm super excited to see all of you, reconnect, and do American things (like please please please someone let's go to an O's game!!).  Another thing to make clear: as of now I have no idea what I'll be doing at home.  I don't have a job lined up or any sort of plan really.  I just know I'm going to Mom's house and I will finally be home for Christmas after missing three!  

I'm going to drive my car and eat sandwiches, fresh salads, and salty popcorn.  I'm going to raid the ice cream aisle at the supermarket for mint chocolate chip ice cream.  I'm going to rejoice just at the fact that the supermarket has literally everything I need/want/desire.  And I'm going to eat Mexican (that's American right??).  Oh and I will bask in central air-conditioning systems, people who know how to queue (hmmm got some British there), sports like baseball/softball and field hockey, chai tea lattes, blue skies, clean air, the smell of freshly cut grass, wide open spaces, anonymity (as in nobody cares what the foreigner is putting into her shopping cart), toilet paper in public restrooms, quality building construction, people who plan ahead, walls that don't sweat, gyms that use air-conditioning, sidewalks people don't drive on, drivers who check their blind spot, not needing a VPN to access all of the internet, being given cakes that don't include beans and tomatoes, sushi without mayonnaise on it (seriously -- whyyyy??), whole grain toast, clothes made for someone who isn't size 0 and 5 feet tall, not having to visit Western Union, using my drivers' license as an ID, having a drivers' license, not receiving weird looks when trying to split the bill for dinner, ice in drinks, and the list could go on.

Basically, coming home will be great, but please try to remember that just as you are not the same as four years ago, I am not the same as four years ago and am now in the process of figuring out exactly what that means (and probably will be for some time).  

So let's reconnect!  Please do invite me to do things.  Please don't wait for me to contact you.  Please do listen to my stories.  Please don't hesitate to ask.  Please do tell me your stories.  Please don't assume that my silence means I'm uninterested.

I think I'll be producing a series of "China Stories".  This is a very different blog post than the one I sat down to write, but perhaps it is the most appropriate first story as I look at China through the lens of impending re-entry.