Friday, August 14, 2009

Wrap Up

Unfortunately, what has been a phenomenal summer has to come to an end. After finishing up the program I returned home to Hong Kong. While there was not any huge culture shock for me, I realized that I really missed a couple of things that I had taken for granite. For example:

Milk - I went from 2 glasses with every meal at school to 1 carton during my entire two months in Beijing

Tap Water - When it is 2:30am and you wake up thirsty to find you have no more bottled water left. Yeah, that's no fun.

Meat - Big hunks of meat, steak. Pieces of meat that you bite down into and you can chew are just tough to find in China unless you go out of your way. I had steak and twice baked potatoes the first night I got home. Incredible.

Sleep - I have gotten close to 10 hours a night since I have been home and just woke up from a nap. Getting up in Beijing every morning at 6:30 wasn't fun. I need to recover before school starts up again.

Clean(ish) air - While in Beijing, there was no way I was going to be able to run. Even playing basketball was tough because after ten minutes your chest would be hurting and afterwards I always felt sick. Coming back to Hong Kong, where the air has been spectacularly clean, has allowed me to get outside for extended periods again. 

While the summer has reminded me to be thankful for the aforementioned things, there are a few certain things that I picked up in Beijing which will be tough to drop

Fried Egg and Dough Breakfast - Ate it every morning and would continue to do so if the guy selling them lived outside my apartment building. 三个拉的。要菜。谢谢。

Gongbaojiding and Danchaofan Lunch - I ate it almost everyday and while I got sick of it towards the end of the program, would gladly have some more. In a couple weeks. 

Playing basketball with Beijingren - I will miss hearing cries of "fan gui," people hanging around the courts all day to watch, and old Chinese men being automatic from 20 feet out. They really do love basketball in China. Whoever is responsible for that (Nike, cough) has done a great job.

On the whole, my summer in China was a fantastic experience and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in Chinese language, culture or just wants to try something different. While it may require you to be outgoing at times, I have yet to meet someone who did not enjoy their time in China. I will definitely be back next year.