My 3 weeks in China were somehow everything I expected, and
nothing like I expected at the same time. It was amazing, more than I ever
could’ve imagined- but harder than I ever could’ve imagined too. I’ve traveled
a lot, but I’ve never had much jet-lag, not even when my family visited Japan.
I had also never been to another country alone. I was surprised to find myself
homesick an exhausted. Somewhat due to exhaustion, the first few days I felt a
little sick as well. It was hard to be so far from my family and feel sick. But
it too passed. My internal clock adjusted. As I warmed up to my host family, I
became less homesick and less anxious. It was such an amazing experience and
I’m so very grateful for the chance I had to go, even though it wasn’t always perfect.
It gave me opportunities to stretch and grow and change.
Something
I was nervous about before I left was food. I’m pretty willing to try new
foods, but also, food can make or break an experience. There were definitely
foods that I tried that I absolutely hated. But overall, I was blessed to be in
a home with two cute grandmas that made delicious food. Authentic Chinese food
is very different than any food in the U.S. and almost every meal I was
intimidated and nervous about the weird looking food. But at almost every meal
I was pleasantly surprised at how good the food was. As I leave for college and
start cooking for myself I will definitely be trying to imitate some of those
Chinese meals!
I was
beyond blessed with the most amazing host family. The Chinese are big on
English names, mostly because Americans suck at saying Chinese names. My host
parents were Harry and Echo. My host sister was 16-year-old Rachel and my host
brother was 10-year-old Kevin. Both grandmothers were home for the summer as well.
They were the sweetest. Echo and Rachel
both had fabulous English that I was so so grateful for.
One of my very favorite things was
sitting and talking with my host mother. She had the greatest stories. She and
I talked to no end about the differences in culture between our two countries,
about love and life, college and family. She talked to me in English about
things I never would’ve guessed we could have. I didn’t expect anyone’s English
to be good enough to tell me about their fears of sky-diving and their problems
worries about their children. She was by far the person that put me the most at
ease and made me feel important and cared for. I love her.
My host father Harry, desperately wanted to
talk to me but had to have his wife or daughter translate for us every time.
But he told me stories too. Just because he didn’t speak my language didn’t
mean he didn’t care. He told me about his job and asked about my family back
home. He told me ancient Chinese stories and teased me about boys. He asked me
if he could be my Chinese dad. I am so grateful for the relationships I made.
Kevin became the translators for
his grandmothers when his parents weren’t around. He didn’t understand anything
I said to him but he tried his best to fill me in on when it was time to eat or
go somewhere. He taught me Chinese words and held my hand while we walked
around the busy city. He had a fit every I beat him at Chinese Checkers, and
cackled every time he beat me at Chinese Chess, just like a good little brother
would.
Rachel, poor girl had to be my tour
guide. Rachel is for sure a homebody and would’ve preferred not to go out as
much as we did. But she was good to me and showed me the sights and introduced
me to her friends. We bonded over Taylor Swift music and the movie La La Land.
She loves practicing English and recently started taking Spanish classes as
well. There are few things more adorable in this world that Spanish with a
Chinese accent. Rachel is super interested in Psychology and wants to go to
college in the U.S. She is my Chinese sister and I am so grateful I had her.
The grandmothers spoke no English
but they worked hard to make me feel welcome anyway. They cooked delicious food
and were always concerned that I had enough to eat. Every night the grandmothers
went for a walk to “help them stay fit.” They invited me along every night.
Sometimes other members of the family would come as well and I would talk and
talk with echo and Kevin would teach me Chinese words. Other nights it was just
me and the grandmas. They made a point of showing me they cared, even thought
they had 0 English skills. Those nightly walks were one of my favorite parts of
my trip to China because it was a chance to see the city and the people.
Some of the amazing things I saw in
China were the Shanghai Museum, The People’s Square, The Bund, Jinjiang Park,
Minhang Sports Park, sooooo many malls and so much more. I learned to make
Dumplings, I ate Dog Neck and went to a hot pot restaurant, I sang bad karaoke
with people I had just met and I got to experience the 2 hottest days on Record
in Shanghai since the 1800’s. I stretched and grew as a person and I learned a
lot about myself and who I want to become. I made lasting friendships with
people I am absolutely certain I will see again. I learned so much about a
culture that is so vastly different than my own, but so similar as well. I was
stared at everywhere I went because I’m very white with blonde hair. I had
people come up and ask to take pictures with me.
One experience that I wasn’t expecting
to be quite as meaningful as it turned out to be was standing on The Bund. In
my bedroom at home I have silhouettes of skylines from all over the world,
places I dream of traveling to on my walls. The Bund Riverside Walk is the
perfect place to take pictures of the Shanghai skyline with all the
“Shanghaiish” things. I was standing there with Rachel looking at that
beautiful skyline in real life. The image I had been staring at for years on my
bedroom wall was no longer a silhouette, it was real. The Pearl Tower and The
World Financial Center and all the other skyscrapers were right in front of me
and so beautiful. I was there. I stood there for a minute thinking about how
big the world is and how small I am and how I couldn’t believe that it was all
real. Then a lady walked up to me and asked me in broken English to take a
picture with her little boy.
I sometimes still can’t believe it
was all real.
To see more pictures of Shanghai Shenanigans you can check out my instagram @boston_sassachusetts and #BostonsChinanigans
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