a long overdue update.
my trip to china was amazing. not amazing in the typical vacation sense, because my trip wasn't a vacation, it was more of a family reunion. i got to understand my roots, experience what my life could have been if my dad never decided to get his masters degree in the U.S.
first off, china is a dirty country. i couldn't see the blue sky at all, there was haze everyday and as soon as i stepped outside, i would break a sweat because it was always humid. there are entirely too many people everywhere during every hour of the day. their toilets look like a urinal turned on its side and placed in the ground. yes, i had to squat to pee, no luxury of sitting on an actual toilet with a seat, oh no. also, there is no such thing as elevators in most of the apartments. my aunt lived on the 6th floor, and i had to climb those stairs at least twice everyday.
we first stayed with my aunt in wuhan, the city where my parent's met and where most of my relatives live. it is off of the yantze river and about the same size as chicago. a 2 hour plane ride south of beijing. my uncle drove us around and i got to see the apartment where i lived right after i was born and my mom showed me the park near the yantze river where she used to take me when she picked me up from day care.
we stayed in wuhan for a week, then we were driven to my grandparent's apartment in the hubei countryside. throughout the entire car ride i had to fight off the urge to burst into tears, because we were passing endless streches of rice paddies and other farmland. every piece of land had a small, dingy shack, barely the size of my room, and these were supposed to be where the farmers lived. after passing all the farmland, we got to my grandparent's place and i started crying immediately when i saw them waiting at the front of their building for us. my mom started sobbing and hugging her mom, who she had not seen for 8 years. from that point on i knew that no matter how much i disliked the chinese way of life, i had to embrace it, because this was where i was born. [my dad said the hospital where i was born was just down the road.]
the first few days with my grandparents i was going insane because it was too hot to go anywhere and there was nothing really to do inside the house. i am used to bearing the heat for 5 seconds then climbing in my car with air conditioning to drive to another building with air conditioning. no such thing in china, everyone walks or rides bikes everywhere and you were lucky if shop owners turned on a fan for you. therefore, everyday, i just stayed inside, half going insane, half feeling extremely guilty for living such a wonderful life here in the U.S. i helped my grandma feed her cat, pigeons, and chickens. i helped my grandfather cook, and just enjoyed the company of my aunts and uncles. there is no such thing as central air conditioning or heating in china, so every room just has its own air conditioning unit. the catch is you couldnt turn on all the units at once, so during the day, we just all stayed in the living room with only the largest AC unit on.
after we left my grandparent's house, we went back to stay with my aunt in wuhan for a few days, then we flew to Beijing. Beijing was much worse than Wuhan. the people were meaner, especially since they knew that we were not from there. I had to whisper to my sister if I wanted to speak to her in English, because apparently as soon as a taxi driver or street vendor or anyone trying to sell something, knows you are from the U.S, they will charge you three times as much.
After Beijing, we flew to Tokyo, quite possibly the best place on earth. it was such a sharp contrast to china, because everyone was polite and the streets were sparkling clean. everything was so efficient and nicely packaged and cute. I got to eat conveyor belt sushi and stare at all the nicely dressed japanese people everywhere.
now I am back home and have managed to get my life somewhat in line again, now that my sleeping schedule is back to normal. I am really thankful for this trip, because it has really helped me erase any doubts I have had in the past about aspirations, identity, culture, etc.
---
i have been back home for about 2.5 weeks now. it took over a week to get past the 12 hour jet-lag. i never want to ride in an airplane for 13 hours straight ever again. i felt so helpless and my butt was entirely too numb afterwards.
first off, china is a dirty country. i couldn't see the blue sky at all, there was haze everyday and as soon as i stepped outside, i would break a sweat because it was always humid. there are entirely too many people everywhere during every hour of the day. their toilets look like a urinal turned on its side and placed in the ground. yes, i had to squat to pee, no luxury of sitting on an actual toilet with a seat, oh no. also, there is no such thing as elevators in most of the apartments. my aunt lived on the 6th floor, and i had to climb those stairs at least twice everyday.
we first stayed with my aunt in wuhan, the city where my parent's met and where most of my relatives live. it is off of the yantze river and about the same size as chicago. a 2 hour plane ride south of beijing. my uncle drove us around and i got to see the apartment where i lived right after i was born and my mom showed me the park near the yantze river where she used to take me when she picked me up from day care.
we stayed in wuhan for a week, then we were driven to my grandparent's apartment in the hubei countryside. throughout the entire car ride i had to fight off the urge to burst into tears, because we were passing endless streches of rice paddies and other farmland. every piece of land had a small, dingy shack, barely the size of my room, and these were supposed to be where the farmers lived. after passing all the farmland, we got to my grandparent's place and i started crying immediately when i saw them waiting at the front of their building for us. my mom started sobbing and hugging her mom, who she had not seen for 8 years. from that point on i knew that no matter how much i disliked the chinese way of life, i had to embrace it, because this was where i was born. [my dad said the hospital where i was born was just down the road.]
the first few days with my grandparents i was going insane because it was too hot to go anywhere and there was nothing really to do inside the house. i am used to bearing the heat for 5 seconds then climbing in my car with air conditioning to drive to another building with air conditioning. no such thing in china, everyone walks or rides bikes everywhere and you were lucky if shop owners turned on a fan for you. therefore, everyday, i just stayed inside, half going insane, half feeling extremely guilty for living such a wonderful life here in the U.S. i helped my grandma feed her cat, pigeons, and chickens. i helped my grandfather cook, and just enjoyed the company of my aunts and uncles. there is no such thing as central air conditioning or heating in china, so every room just has its own air conditioning unit. the catch is you couldnt turn on all the units at once, so during the day, we just all stayed in the living room with only the largest AC unit on.
after we left my grandparent's house, we went back to stay with my aunt in wuhan for a few days, then we flew to Beijing. Beijing was much worse than Wuhan. the people were meaner, especially since they knew that we were not from there. I had to whisper to my sister if I wanted to speak to her in English, because apparently as soon as a taxi driver or street vendor or anyone trying to sell something, knows you are from the U.S, they will charge you three times as much.
After Beijing, we flew to Tokyo, quite possibly the best place on earth. it was such a sharp contrast to china, because everyone was polite and the streets were sparkling clean. everything was so efficient and nicely packaged and cute. I got to eat conveyor belt sushi and stare at all the nicely dressed japanese people everywhere.
now I am back home and have managed to get my life somewhat in line again, now that my sleeping schedule is back to normal. I am really thankful for this trip, because it has really helped me erase any doubts I have had in the past about aspirations, identity, culture, etc.
---
i have been back home for about 2.5 weeks now. it took over a week to get past the 12 hour jet-lag. i never want to ride in an airplane for 13 hours straight ever again. i felt so helpless and my butt was entirely too numb afterwards.