Back Home

It's weird. I don't know how to explain it. Just coming back from the airport to my house felt so strange. I was soon shown the likes of SF traffic and everyone speaking English to me again, but thinking about waking up tomorrow and not really having to decide how many layers to put on or what Chinese food to eat really throws me off.

I've spent the last 6 months in a foreign country, adopting a thusly foreign demeanor and attitude, all of which were adapted to the style of living in that foreign country. Then, all of a sudden, I'm back again, to the same routine of living that I was set in, in the United States. It's really disorienting. I've heard people get reverse culture shock sometimes, some people even get depressed. I, on the other hand, was very excited to get home. However, while 10 days before departure I was itching to get back, the day before our flight I was starting to feel sad that we would leave China, most of the friends we've made there, and a lot of the places and experiences that we had been through. It's to think about sometimes. But then if you think about all the good experiences you've had and the lasting friendship, you become happy and grateful for all the fun that you experienced as a study abroad student in China, but also happy to be home with the friends and family that you missed from day 1.

I won't say that I won't miss China, of course I'll miss the food, the cheapness, some parts of the dirtiness and Beijing attitude...hearing Chinese, speaking Chinese, etc. But I am really glad to be back home, unpack all my stuff and actually have a place that's clean, comfortable and not as freezing cold or extremely hot as Beijing is during it's seasonal phases.

And with having come back home, there are a few things I must get done on my list. Firstly...food! Thanks to all you pranksters out there who did this:


I guess I'm going to be eating Chinese and Barney's tomorrow. It shall be exciting. But now, I need to start unpacking everything and putting things in their place, washing my clothes, and wrapping Christmas presents.

Oh, one more thing: On the way back from the airport was the first time I'd ever seen a full rainbow. One side to the other. While driving along a freeway, we saw a rainbow outside the window over the Bay, in full flex from one side to the next. I wasn't able to catch pictures of the entire rainbow in one shot, but I did take both sides in hopes of maybe making a panoramic view.