Looking back

I have been in China for almost seven months and although ordinarily I would say seven months is not very long, these days I am singing a different tune. The longest I had ever been away from home was the three weeks I spent in Florida with my grandparents when I was, like, ten. And, hello, my brother was there the whole time and even my mom and dad were there for a week. Even when I moved away for college (for only my Freshman year I should add) I still managed to never stay away from home for longer than a few weeks. I would go as far as to say that 99.8% of the people I know, I met in Roanoke. Spending seven months away from my home has proven to be quite difficult. I was lucky that my mom could visit me in September but even that seems like eons ago. I feel like I haven't been home for years. It seems I have just been living my whole life in this faraway land. And even though on many days it seems China is just a bottomless, black-pit that I am destined to spend eternity in, the country has really done a lot for me. My world view has shifted tremendously. I am not some uncultured, white girl anymore. I know how it feels to be the minority. I have lived alone in a place that I was lost in the moment I turned onto another block. Having a language barrier come between every single thing you try to do is not exactly a happiness-builder. I have struggled through being lost without someone to ask for help, blindly choosing something to eat and have it turn out to be a spicy bowl of organs, and having not one person around to befriend. At the end of the day, though, life is all about taking the good with the bad. I didn't expect to come here and just be thrilled with life all the time. I have met some really great people. I have learned a small amount of a very unique language. I have eaten some really delicious food that I never would have tried at home. I have learned how to live on my own and take care of myself without needing someone else around. I have gained confidence in front of an audience. I have learned how to truly be a leader. I am taking so much home with me to America. I was right all along, this experience has changed my life. I know that I have the courage to find people to be around who will not bring me down. The term flexibility in the workplace has come to have an entirely new definition. Learning how to survive in an office where your superior does not even speak your language has definitely proved to be a challenge but it has also taught me that I can handle difficulties beyond measure and still come-out okay. I am grateful for China and its people. I am happy that I moved here. But I am also happy that I am moving home. Yep, that's right... In just ten short days I will be moving back to Virginia, and back home. I will only be in Roanoke for about two weeks and then it's off to new adventures but I honestly cannot wait to see the mountains, blue sky, corny star, and familiar streets of Roanoke - of home. I got everything I needed by coming here. My life has truly been altered. But it is time for me to come home.

Even the cat thinks so:

Mandarin lesson:
Shēngmìng 生命 (life) Shǒuyè 首页 (home) Jiàoxun 教训 (lessons)