Well, the supposed torential rains from the Typhoon never materialized, at least not in Nanchang. Anthony was very concerned last night that he would be stuck here another day, but I am assuming that he is now on his flight back to the US. And not to sound unappreciative of China and all, but I am kind of jealous. All I can say is, thank goodness I am only here for two weeks and not three like many of the previous groups that have been here.
Really, this is a bit of a surprise for me - I guess that I had different expectations of how I thought I would react, visiting China for the first time - afterall, my roots are in this country, my father was born here and being Chinese is part of who I am. I thought I would feel some sense of connection to the land, to the culture. Nope. Very little (if any!) connection. I am a bit disappointed in myself!
I guess the real thing is that being in a place like this can really put you out of your comfort zone. Everything is so different and the language barrier really exacerbates things. At least I am able to communicate a little here. I can only imagine the frustration of people like Dave, Anthony and the operators from work who don't speak any Chinese. I totally feel out of place (even though I blend in very well, LOL) here.
OK, I will stop my whining a look at the bright side of things. Yes, this experience really has brought me out of my comfort zone. That really isn't a bad thing every now and then. I will totally appreciate the conveniences of the US so much more. And I will be much more sensitive to visitors to the US, especially people who visit from this region. They must feel the same stress.
And I can start counting down the days until I am scheduled to leave.....8.....
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