你知道吗? : This is one of the most frequent phrases spoken to me while I have been here. "Do you know this?" Chinese people don't expect an American to get in their Taxi or walk into their store and start speaking Chinese to them, especially a college student. Now imagine yourself in their shoes? This is the total opposite of Americans, who expect everyone to be able to speak English in our country. When have you walked up to someone and realized that they do not speak a lick of English? Were you mad? Chinese seem to expect the complete opposite, as well as the rest of the world. In the first few days this trip has taught me one huge thing besides Chinese: Open your eyes to the world around you.
I do not even know how to describe China... It is modern and old, super dirty and pretty clean, has zero health regulations but has a huge government hold on society. It is everything bundled into one. We just started our language pledge and have almost been doing it for 24 hours but it seems like it has been forever already. Every day conversation is not too bad so far, but the classes here are really demanding and let's just say I have never had a greater desire to study for 7 hours a day than here (scary thought, huh?). I am not quite sure how I feel about being in China yet. It actually isn't as bad as I was expecting and I am not home sick, but it is similar to the feeling that you have when first staying at a friends house-- you are comfortable but at the same time it is missing certain comforts you expect in a home. Maybe the water tastes different or you take showers at a certain time. This is the exact same with China. Even Lay's Chips has a certain Asian taste about them. The restaurants appear different, the showers work differently, even the Google here pops up differently. It is those little comforts that make you realize just how important home is. There is nothing like home. Nada.
While you should always open your eyes to the world around you, it is also important to appreciate where you come from. Home is always the place that will feel the same when you return from a long trip but, definitely the place we may no appreciate the most.
On another note, China is the one place you have to let your sanitary guards down and eat whatever. Half of the time, I have no idea what I put into my mouth... let's just say sometimes it turns out great and sometimes not so great. Oh and if you are considering ever going for a run in China, I recommend doing it. I don't think they have ever seen an American running before..
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