After three months, my journey is almost over. I leave in a
few days pulling together the string ends of the trip. I slowly watch the
people I have met leave one by one.
The last night Ali and I go to an Italian dinner in East
Nanjing. We eat our last Americanized-Chinese meal. Afterwards, I walk
alongside the Bund. Seeing the first place I experienced Shanghai nightlife.
The river I crossed each morning to get to work. Separating the downtown area
and traditional Shanghai.
I look at the city and think how much it has changed. The
confusing mess it was the first days, to exploring the city with ease. Knowing
an easier way around everything. Each awful moment was accompanied by one that
created Shanghai as a dream world. Sometimes it was a nightmare but other
times, it didn’t even feel real.
Being back here
three months now, I miss the excitement. I miss waking up every morning and
gasping for breath, hoping each day brought a new part of China to me. I crave
the exotic meal, the fresh conversation, and the struggle to survive in a place
I didn't belong. Almost like missing a friend or ex.
My life here is
too simple. That leaves too much room for confusion. I want the endless
supplies of activities. The lack of a daily schedule. I guess I’ll have to
leave that saved for my next time in Shanghai.
Before this semester, I had only worked a blog on Tumblr, which consists primarily of visual expression. With one click, I take something from someone else’s blog onto mine. I can easily post something and then with just another click that can be all over the web. This was the first time I created something completely on my own, designing the layout, and expressing myself primarily through text. It really allowed me to tell my story almost wholly how I wanted to. Interacting with the other blogs gave this assignment a whole new feel though. It was also strange that the blogs I got as partners weirdly already related to my blog in strange ways. One of my favorite parts of this assignment was seeing what people had to say about my blog. I really enjoyed reading comments that they enjoyed my layout and text.
ReplyDeleteMy trip to China was extremely special to me and coming back has almost been a reverse culture shock. I was there for so long and there were 2 years of a lot of preparation and anticipation leading up to it. Coming back, I have felt almost purposeless, not knowing what to do since my internship is over. I miss being in China and the experiences I had. Creating this blog, has given me an outlet to remember my time there, making it special. I have been able to release my frustrations of being home to others. I recently showed my blog to a friend and she identified with what I had been feeling. I really wish that I had this blog while I was in China (though blogger.com might be blocked by the sensors). It was difficult talking to people back home and telling them the same stories over and over again. I wish I had had this outlet to share on Facebook and Tumblr so that my friends could have been more updated on my life there.