Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey

And so the countdown begins. I'm heading home in about 10 days. I can't even believe it. I know I haven't been gone that long, just over 6 months, but that's the longest I've ever been away from home, let alone on the other side of the world. The time has gone by both in the blink of an eye and as slow as molasses, so who knows. My official 6 month anniversary in China was the same day as my 24th birthday, so I knocked out two birds with one stone (holy hell, this blog entry is already rife with over-used metaphors and I'm only one paragraph in. My apologies) and celebrated both at once.

Not too much to report. School is winding down because the holiday is beginning soon, so I've had a lot more free time the past two weeks. Next week I only have to teach over the weekend, so I can use my 5 days off to prepare for my trip. I've been enjoying the time off, seeing friends and exploring new areas of Suzhou. I celebrated my birthday over dinner with my friends, and it was lovely. Much better than my 23rd birthday, spent as sick as I've ever been in my life. But despite a bad birthday, 23 turned out to be a pretty good year, so I'm optimistic about 24 :).

People keep asking me the same question: What am I most looking forward to most about my trip home? So I present my answer:

1. Not speaking Chinese- I like the language, I do. And I like practicing it. But it will be nice to say exactly what I mean to say and be understood. You don't realize how nice that is until you can't do it.

2. California Tortilla- Shockingly, my favorite Mexican fast-food chain has yet to make it to China. They followed me from Bethesda to Newark, maybe Suzhou isn't far off? That being said, I'm actually not missing much in the way of food- I love the food here, and there is enough Western food to satisfy. But no CalTor. But what I am looking forward to most is going into any restaurant and being able to read the menu.

3. Toilets- Not having to plan my bathroom breaks around the availability of a toilet versus a squatter is a nice break.

4. Seeing everyone- Obviously the number one reason I'm coming home. And the fact none of you (that I know of) speak Chinese is very nice.

5. Driving- I miss it. And I'm sure I'll be sick of it in 2 days.

6. Chinese food: American Chinese food that is. The only similarity I can find between Chinese food in China and Chinese food in American is that both are eaten with rice. Other than that, it might as well be from a different country. I can't wait for some Mei Wah :).

Things I'm not looking forward to (although it's only like 2 weeks):

1. Not speaking Chinese- I'm pretty sure I'll forget a lot of what I've learned in the time I'm home, because I can hardly remember things 5 minutes after I learn them. My trainer taught me to say "You are my trainer" today, and it took all my brain power to even remember the sentence he taught me in English, let alone in Chinese, just now, and he only told me like 8 hours ago.

2. Spending money- When something costs 100rmb here, it's nice to remind myself that's only like $15. When something costs $100 at home, it actually costs $100.

3. The flight- Shanghai to Beijing to Japan to DC. No further explanation needed. Oh, and on United.

3. China- I love China. I love my life here. I'll miss it, even for the short time. But I am super excited to be coming home, especially since it's much earlier than I expected to be visiting :)

So, I'm taking requests for gifts. I'll get my shopping done in the next few days, so if there is anything you want, let me know soon. Suzhou is famous for silk, and it also has all the normal Chinese knick-knacks and knock-off stuff, so just let me know.

And that's about it for me. Off to my normal Friday night routine- cleaning and watching DVDs, all in preparation for a long weekend full of repeating the word "shoulder" (trying saying it 20 times in a row and see if you can say it), being groped and doing the hokey pokey.

Can't wait to see you!!!!

XOXO,

RDG

P.S. For those of you who care, I arrive at Dulles at about 2:30pm on Monday the 8th.