Good-bye, China
I'm down to my last hours in the PRC. I'd say it's an appropriate time to reflect on the last seven months. So here goes: my lists of stuff I will/won't miss about China (and when I get back to the United States of Freedom I'll post what I really think about this place but can't say while I'm here).
Stuff I'll miss about China
- The DVDs
- Eating well on a dollar a day
- Being able to travel on a student's budget without a job! Unlike in Canada.
- Being stared at all the time.
- The scenery! The mountains, the temples, the trees, the lakes, the pagodas.
- The history. We just don't have that back home.
- The cute girls
- Those Chinese waffle things they sell on the street, but I can get those in Toronto so no biggie.
- The cool feeling I get when I actually have a conversation all in Chinese.
- Beijing
- Hangzhou
- Peking duck (best food ever? quite possibly)
Stuff I won't miss about China
- The complete lack of hygiene
- The poverty
- The spitting! Ugh, the spitting!
- Being stared at all the time.
- The pollution
- The constant pushing, shoving, elbowing and other forms of physical contact. You know me and physical contact.
- The shallow girls (that's a Shanghai thing really)
- The stir fried cat food they try to pass off as human food (again a Shanghai thing)
- Trying to speak Chinese and failing miserably at it
- Shanghai
- Cigarette smoke everywhere
- The constant loneliness
So that's about all that comes to mind at the moment. It's been a good experience. I'm happy I came and I look forward to coming again but right now I'm very eager to get home. Even Hong Kong feels like nothing more than an obstacle between me and that goal. I know I'll have fun but not nearly as much as when I get to my parents house and sit down to a dinner of real New Jersey pizza, a hoagie and taquitos. Best dinner ever.