A Chill Evening
Tony came down to our area for lunch, dinner, and just hanging out a bit. It was nice catching up with him.
Last night one of the friendly masseuses from the foot massage place we usually go to invited me out to KTV for someone's birthday. It was kind of nice, though she was really worried I wasn't having fun because my Chinese is somewhat limited. Truth is, I had a great time. She got pretty trashed, but not as much as the birthday girl. They insisted on paying for everything, I couldn't even contribute any money to any of the taxi rides, meals, or alcohol. I only had a few glasses of beer, but in my weak condition I couldn't tell if I was buzzed or just really tired.
They took me to a Hunan restaurant after KTV, and all the girls made incessant comments about how cute I was. I told them all kinds of things like I was "difficult on the eyes" and "too fat". I can't really accept excessive compliments well, and they were just being very nice. I didn't eat much because my stomach still feels a bit gnarly today. I've been eating rather simple food since my surgery, and well... beer and Hunan cuisine don't really settle well right now.
I don't know it was kind of nice to hang out with other people for a bit in China. It would be a bit more bearable having some kind of social life like that, although I'm dead set on going home there's no way I'm sticking it out here... but I definitely feel like I want to go back on vacation at some point. I'm thinking about keeping my Chinese studies going by taking some community college classes again. It's really starting to "make sense" to me... my Chinese level has shot up a lot and I've put rather minimal effort during my time in China (we don't even use Chinese at work, purely all my skills gained are from going out and about myself).
I think I've finally come full circle about my feelings with China. They say everyone goes through different stages when living in a foreign country ranging from amazement at first to completely loathing the bizarre shit people do. I've just kind of hit the last stage - I've accepted China and the bizarre behavior of some of the people here. Truly, there are actually a lot of good people in China - they are the salt of the earth poor people. The hospitality of people are simple as poor uneducated foot massage girls is astounding. I make their monthly salary in a day back at home, but they insist on paying for everything. It's really something else... I felt really moved yesterday because their entire night of fun with KTV, drinking, and eating food is what I probably spend on just EATING daily meals in America... piddling amounts of money truthfully.
I can totally see why Tony is not really in a rush to leave. The air in many parts of Guangdong is just brimming with opportunity. It seems like the world is moving at a 100 mph pace out here while in America it's unrushed and slow. I told Tony I'm much more of a "small town" personality where I enjoy life going at a slow pace. It's really true, though I can still appreciate the pace out here and live in it.
I know that a few months into coming back to Millbrae, I'm going to miss China. I can already feel it now. What should I do? We often get so locked into our careers... My career is the #1 worry right now upon moving back home... I think I would really consider coming back and giving working out here a second try after I get my health and weight under control.
I never thought I'd say this but, I actually really love a lot about China.
Last night one of the friendly masseuses from the foot massage place we usually go to invited me out to KTV for someone's birthday. It was kind of nice, though she was really worried I wasn't having fun because my Chinese is somewhat limited. Truth is, I had a great time. She got pretty trashed, but not as much as the birthday girl. They insisted on paying for everything, I couldn't even contribute any money to any of the taxi rides, meals, or alcohol. I only had a few glasses of beer, but in my weak condition I couldn't tell if I was buzzed or just really tired.
They took me to a Hunan restaurant after KTV, and all the girls made incessant comments about how cute I was. I told them all kinds of things like I was "difficult on the eyes" and "too fat". I can't really accept excessive compliments well, and they were just being very nice. I didn't eat much because my stomach still feels a bit gnarly today. I've been eating rather simple food since my surgery, and well... beer and Hunan cuisine don't really settle well right now.
I don't know it was kind of nice to hang out with other people for a bit in China. It would be a bit more bearable having some kind of social life like that, although I'm dead set on going home there's no way I'm sticking it out here... but I definitely feel like I want to go back on vacation at some point. I'm thinking about keeping my Chinese studies going by taking some community college classes again. It's really starting to "make sense" to me... my Chinese level has shot up a lot and I've put rather minimal effort during my time in China (we don't even use Chinese at work, purely all my skills gained are from going out and about myself).
I think I've finally come full circle about my feelings with China. They say everyone goes through different stages when living in a foreign country ranging from amazement at first to completely loathing the bizarre shit people do. I've just kind of hit the last stage - I've accepted China and the bizarre behavior of some of the people here. Truly, there are actually a lot of good people in China - they are the salt of the earth poor people. The hospitality of people are simple as poor uneducated foot massage girls is astounding. I make their monthly salary in a day back at home, but they insist on paying for everything. It's really something else... I felt really moved yesterday because their entire night of fun with KTV, drinking, and eating food is what I probably spend on just EATING daily meals in America... piddling amounts of money truthfully.
I can totally see why Tony is not really in a rush to leave. The air in many parts of Guangdong is just brimming with opportunity. It seems like the world is moving at a 100 mph pace out here while in America it's unrushed and slow. I told Tony I'm much more of a "small town" personality where I enjoy life going at a slow pace. It's really true, though I can still appreciate the pace out here and live in it.
I know that a few months into coming back to Millbrae, I'm going to miss China. I can already feel it now. What should I do? We often get so locked into our careers... My career is the #1 worry right now upon moving back home... I think I would really consider coming back and giving working out here a second try after I get my health and weight under control.
I never thought I'd say this but, I actually really love a lot about China.