Hugs
I just realized tonight the one thing I miss the most from home... besides Rudy and blues dancing. I miss hugs.
It's said that the Chinese are pretty touchy-feely and they like to touch each other to show their friendliness, but from my experience, that only extends to the friends they feel close with. And I don't have any close friends here, really.
The Chinese also don't become close friends with people easily at all. They don't tend to be open to new friendships the way Americans will be, and they take a while to get to know. It's said that a Chinese person is difficult to make friends with, but once you're friends, you're friends for life. Close friends are seen the same as family in Chinese culture.
Taking all of that into account, I pretty much never get hugged. Surely I'd be hugged by my foreign friends, though, right? Well, once in a while, yes. But I'm still working on friendships with foreign friends, and most of my foreign friends aren't Americans. British people don't really touch much to show their friendliness, so even some of my British friends with whom I feel pretty close, I don't really hug much.
So, I'm just counting down the days now until April 20th, when I temporarily return to the land of my boyfriend, blues dancing, and hugs! Can't wait to hug all my friends again.
It's said that the Chinese are pretty touchy-feely and they like to touch each other to show their friendliness, but from my experience, that only extends to the friends they feel close with. And I don't have any close friends here, really.
The Chinese also don't become close friends with people easily at all. They don't tend to be open to new friendships the way Americans will be, and they take a while to get to know. It's said that a Chinese person is difficult to make friends with, but once you're friends, you're friends for life. Close friends are seen the same as family in Chinese culture.
Taking all of that into account, I pretty much never get hugged. Surely I'd be hugged by my foreign friends, though, right? Well, once in a while, yes. But I'm still working on friendships with foreign friends, and most of my foreign friends aren't Americans. British people don't really touch much to show their friendliness, so even some of my British friends with whom I feel pretty close, I don't really hug much.
So, I'm just counting down the days now until April 20th, when I temporarily return to the land of my boyfriend, blues dancing, and hugs! Can't wait to hug all my friends again.