This was written on the train to China from Atlanta on July 14th.
In Chinese, America is literally translated as "The Beautiful Country," and it is a beautiful country. The abundant trees, rolling hills, blue sky, wildlife, agriculture in box-like arrangements, individual lawns and landscaping; it is a physically stunning country!
When Americans who've lived in China longer than me heard that I was making a journey home, they all prepared me for the things that struck them when they made a trip to the US: clean air, clear skies, clean streets, streets vacant of people, the once familiar tastes of home and hometown. Because I was prepared, those things, while definitely exciting and immensely better than I imagined them to be, were not what overwhelmed me. Instead, it was the colors, the smells, the friendly attitudes and a plethora of what may seem like minor conveniences that struck me.
I don't know why I never noticed it before, but China appears to lack color in comparison to America. In America, every time I'd step outside or enter a room, I was overwhelmed by the wide assortment of color everywhere! Outside, it was the blue sky juxtaposed with the green grass, pastel flowers, various diverse houses with differing forms of siding, brick, stucco, wood . . . Inside, it was the painted walls, colored cabinets, wall hangings, decorations, flower arrangements, carpet. In America, we have color, and it is beautiful!
Not only do we have color, but we have a great smelling country! Fresh air, fresh pollen, unpolluted rain, candles, smells lingering of home-cooked food, grocery stores laden with the scent of bakeries, ladies walking by with various hints of perfume. What a nice place America is! We can even flush our toilet paper, blow our nose without turning the tissue black with dirt every 20 minutes, have friendly disagreements about politics and government at the family table and go out for ice cream afterwords.
My vacation home was exceptional, as an understatement. It was so rewarding to pretend to jump back into an old life, even if it was only for a few short days. Getting to see my brother in his new, exciting life as an upcoming musician, meeting his much-approved girlfriend, sitting on the deck or in the den with my parents talking as though things never changed, or quality time with the whole family together and each of them individually over mini road trips, meals, or other enjoyable moments, getting to re-meet my cousins, now a year older and just that much closer to coming into themselves, staying out late doing familiar things or going to favorite restaurants with best friends, walking or playing in the yard with my dogs. Mom even treated me to a fancy haircut and massage by one heck of a good looking guy, I had a 4 year high school class reunion, and on my last day, I saw two of my good college friends get married in Chicago and partied with college friends at the reception just before taxiing to O'Hare.
The trip home was eventful, and I, while currently on the 17 hour plane ride to Shanghai, look back with ambivalence towards the past 3 travel days. After leaving the wedding reception in Chicago, I had a pleasant taxi ride with a very nice driver, followed by a long wait at O'Hare where I was accompanied by a kindly woman from San Francisco who used to live in West Africa, as well as two women (one named Valerie), representing an NGO dedicated to teachers working for peace, who were on their way to build connections with the UN university for peace in Costa Rica. Having similar interests, we all had a lot to talk about and share. When I loaded the plane, I was eagerly greeted by a guy my age from Boston, a definite future politician, to be sure. From the moment I sat down next to him, we chatted nonstop for the entire ride, even exchanging our gmail accounts in effort to keep in touch. This all aside, however, my plane in Chicago was delayed for 2-3 hours, forcing me to miss my connecting flight in Atlanta.
Desperate and worried about what would happen, I waited in line for 4.5 hours in attempt to get the earliest flight to Shanghai (missing my lunch opportunity with said Boston boy) and hope that they would reimburse me for the flight I will now, consequently, have missed from Shanghai to Guiyang.
While the 4.5 hour line should have been an awful experience, it actually was one of the most memorable parts of the transportation endeavor (which was memorable in many ways, good and bad). I met a man on his way to Shanghai who owns a company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (who is, incidentally, sitting near me on this very flight), and then formed a friendship "team" with a Texan woman on her way to learn Spanish in Guatemala and a man who was a former refugee from Bosnia. The three of us looked out for each other's bags while allowing ourselves to take restroom breaks, eat, walk around, etc. The man from Bosnia told me all about his experiences as a refugee, which was fascinating and definitely encouraged me to further consider that line of work. While I was sad to miss my flight, and really sad to be spending more time in the states but not able to enjoy it with my family, I really was blessed with great company.
As it turns out, Delta did not reimburse my nonrefundable missed flight from Shanghai to Guiyang, I could have avoided the 4.5 hour line altogether and I still have yet to get a ticket from Shanghai and am not sure what will happen upon arrival. The moment I was told this in line, having been separated by my newly formed friends, the two days of no sleep caught up with me, my good mood instantly deteriorated and I started tearing up and had to continually stop myself mid-sentence to stop from crying. Thankfully, they gave me a hotel to stay in for the night, which was exactly what my mental state needed. Peace Corps, after I slept enough to call them, were very understanding, and things did work out after all. While I still do not have a flight to Guiyang, I'm hoping that when I get to Shanghai things will simply work out and I won't have to spend a month's salary on replacing it. Things always work out. ;) (As an afterthought after the fact: In Shanghai, Air China switched my ticket without making me pay and I was able to get back to Guiyang that night, but it did require a few obstacles with the airline which aren't worth getting into.)
Lastly, for those that don't know, this summer awaits big things for me. The day I arrive (I will now be a day late) I will travel to Duyun, a neighboring city in Guizhou, for "summer project", training primary and high school teachers in Western teaching methodologies and to refresh their knowledge of English. Many of these teachers have not had an education beyond 7th grade themselves, and are now teaching English to children in the rural villages.
After the teacher training session, I will go to Chengdu to do a cultural training session for our incoming Peace Corps volunteers in dealing with indirect communication, and understanding and respecting the Chinese notion of face and guanxi.
Immediately after I teach my last course in Chengdu, I will join another volunteer, "Jersey" Chris, to work at a refugee camp in Sichuan, teaching victimized children of the earthquake in tent schools. I will stay there until the end of August, returning just in time to resume teaching classes at my university. This I am most excited about, as it will let me know if refugee work is indeed a field I want to study or enter into. I didn't write about it sooner, because I was afraid of jinxing it, but this is the most exciting thing that I have come across in China and when I initially got approval the world seemed at my fingertips. :)
Needless to say, this has already been a great summer with the journey home, and I expect it to continue on the positive path in the months to come. I may not have a lot of time for frequent updates, but I will write as soon as computer access is near and I have time. :)
For now, I leave this blog with a tremendously heartfelt thank you to all people who made my experience in America what it was, and, as always, hopes that you all are well and blessed.
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