Over the last week, the lake outside of my apartment has frozen and a light snow has settled on the ground (see photo), signaling the end of my stay in Beijing. We had our closing banquet last night (see photo). I leave China for the US tomorrow morning. My time in China has gone amazingly fast. I've met so many people, seen so much, and learned so much in the last 3.5 months. Its been a wonderful adventure. I'm excited about going home, back to the US, but I'm going to miss my second home in Beijing. I know I'll be back. I just don't know when... yet.
As I think about going home, I'm reflecting on all of the things that I've come to enjoy about Beijing and China and what I'll miss most. Here's my top 10 list:
1. Friends, colleagues & students that I've gotten to know here.
2. The diversity of Chinese food, particularly the seemingly infinite variety of vegetables (Literally, I have hardly had any dishes twice. Calculated out... 105 days x 3 dishes per day, that's a lot of different dishes!)
3. The slower pace and flexible attitude toward time
4. Speaking Chinese and being understood (it doesn't happen often, but when it does, its so cool!)
5. HouHai (a great little area downtown with bars and restaurants around the edge of a lake)
6. Being able to take weekend trips to exotic places (being able to even consider a long weekend trip to Tibet!)
7. Walking (from home to class, to the office, to dinner, etc.)
8. Large round banquet tables (seating up to 20) and family style eating... its amazing how much this creates a communal bond. A Chinse colleague told me that when she visits the US, she feels lonely at meals because she can't share her food with others and noone wants to share with her.
9. The Chinese peoples' optimism and excitement about the future
10. The lake in front of my apartment
Looking ahead, I'm thinking about all of those things that I'm looking forward to back home. My top 10 include:
1. Spending time with my husband
2. Family, friends, and colleagues
3. Those two dogs
4. The salad bar at our local grocery store (Draeger's)
5. Crossing the street in a crosswalk and having the cars actually stop
6. Toilet paper in public restrooms
7. Standing in a line/cue and having people wait patiently for their turn (or better yet, having a number and politely waiting my turn).
8. Ice cream, especially gelato!
9. Speaking English and being understood
10. Breathing clean air... aaaahhhhh.
1 comment:
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