Being here in Lithuania has made me think a lot about my time in China last year while I was teaching English as well. China brought up every emotion and situation from "this is the coolest place ever!" to "can I go back to the states yet?" to "what the hell did I just eat?"
Diapers are non existent in China. Instead, there are strategically placed holes in children's pants so that they may just go as they need onto the street. We lovingly termed them "crapper pants".
You can buy these awesome (awesome or ....) collapsable paper hats. Fancy. And they have holes on both ends so you can where them upside down as well. AND they fold inside out. So you're buying 4 hats for the price of one. Those Chinese, man they're clever.
I pulled out my journal and was reading back through my entries from my China days and I found one titled things I'll miss about China and things I won't. All those old emotions came back and I was crying and laughing from missing all that is China. That country should be on another planet.
Things I'll Miss
Kyle's (one of my fav students) kisses
cheapest shopping ever
peanut butter and jelly for breakfast
3 men driving around on a scooter
strangers passing by saying, "hello baby"
beautiful, green places
yummiest dinner ever for 10 yuan (about $1). not sure what kind of meat it was but we called it sheep's meat. i know that sounds appetizing.
sweet and sour days in the cafeteria. it sure beats chicken feet days.
tucking the students in and saying goodnight
visiting the kindergarten on sundays after their naps
no traffic rules
the few times the squatters (toilets) were clean, those were good days
living with the funnest girls ever (the other teachers)
Kaden (one of the students) throwing up every day in class. that should probably be on the things i wont miss category but i loved the excuse of taking him out of class and taking care of him one on one. he's the sweetest.
people thinking i'm cool enough to do a choreographed dance for them. and then requesting that i do it again. and then again.
my super hot butt from living on the 5th floor and climbing those stairs several times a day
Things I Won't
people spitting
knowing that the table i eat at was just mopped by the same mop that cleaned the floors and the window and my seat
a culture where nothing is planned. like nothing. the only set plans are the ones that already happened.
a culture where you it is only acceptable to say yes or maybe. no is not in the vocabulary.
men pulling their shirts up to their boobs to cool off from the extreme heat. that's right, i do not miss seeing asian men stomachs
hooker atire on all the women
techno music
celebrity status and causing every person to suddenly become paparazzi as i pass by
hunger pains before sleep because i couldn't stomach the dinner. or the lunch.
only having hot water from 5-8pm. well....5 ish to 8 ish. you just gotta hope you catch it at the right time
littering being the norm
clothes that still feel dirtier after washing than before
wearing 2 layers of spandex under my jeans to fight off the humid cold
White girls in Beijing.
China is just beautiful for lack of a better word.
Every day is China was totally nuts but I'll forever miss that place. Even though I spent most days missing home, now that I'm home....I'd give anything to go back. That place and those kiddos stole a huge piece of my heart.
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