At Last
Hello again…I’m back with a post that’s waaayyy overdue. I actually started it awhile back but lost it when my hard drive blew up, so since I have finals this week and should be studying, I’ve decided to try again. (Amazing how productive I become when I’m procrastinating.) I also just received an email from host dad, which had me thinking about my trip. He writes: “Thank you for your present. We have got them many days. Chengcheng like them very much. That remind us thinking of your live in China. We hope that is good memory to you. How are you today? How do you think next trip to China? We will happy to receive you again.” Good people.
What a great experience!! I took more away from my trip than cheap tennis shoes and a love for red bean popsicles—much more. Besides the things you would expect from a study abroad experience, like improved language skills, appreciation for a foreign culture, etc.,I came back with a changed perspective on my own country. I returned from watching CCTV (Commie China TV...not what it really stands for of course, but it’s the state-owned media corporation that controls most of the TV) back to listening to commentators on TV and the radio fight about the upcoming presidential election. And of course reading all about it from many different perspectives on various politically-oriented blogs. I returned from helping ChengCheng study for the exams that will determine the course of her academic future, to the college I chose out of many possibilities. I returned from immersion in a culture whose national religion is the worship of money to my hometown, where there are at least 9 churches of different varieties on one road by my house.
I also came back with a new perspective on myself.
I was talking to host dad one night after dinner when he asked me about what kind of job I wanted after college. I said I wasn’t sure, that I was majoring in political science and psychology, and maybe wanted to do something with international relations. Host dad talked a little about all the business opportunities for Americans who could speak Chinese. Then he stopped for a second, and said, “JinJing, I do not really think you should have a job like this, buy this here and sell this here. You should have a job that is…significant.” Through the muddle of a Chinglish conversation, host dad had found the perfect word to describe my desire. I couldn’t have said it better.
So I’m back at school, studying Chinese (I’ve tacked an Asian Studies minor onto my double major)…enjoying my political blogs…going to Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings…applying for internships and other things, studying hard for finals (I really will, once I finish this)…
…enjoying the opportunities the United States provides and preparing to make the most of them.
What a great experience!! I took more away from my trip than cheap tennis shoes and a love for red bean popsicles—much more. Besides the things you would expect from a study abroad experience, like improved language skills, appreciation for a foreign culture, etc.,I came back with a changed perspective on my own country. I returned from watching CCTV (Commie China TV...not what it really stands for of course, but it’s the state-owned media corporation that controls most of the TV) back to listening to commentators on TV and the radio fight about the upcoming presidential election. And of course reading all about it from many different perspectives on various politically-oriented blogs. I returned from helping ChengCheng study for the exams that will determine the course of her academic future, to the college I chose out of many possibilities. I returned from immersion in a culture whose national religion is the worship of money to my hometown, where there are at least 9 churches of different varieties on one road by my house.
I also came back with a new perspective on myself.
I was talking to host dad one night after dinner when he asked me about what kind of job I wanted after college. I said I wasn’t sure, that I was majoring in political science and psychology, and maybe wanted to do something with international relations. Host dad talked a little about all the business opportunities for Americans who could speak Chinese. Then he stopped for a second, and said, “JinJing, I do not really think you should have a job like this, buy this here and sell this here. You should have a job that is…significant.” Through the muddle of a Chinglish conversation, host dad had found the perfect word to describe my desire. I couldn’t have said it better.
So I’m back at school, studying Chinese (I’ve tacked an Asian Studies minor onto my double major)…enjoying my political blogs…going to Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings…applying for internships and other things, studying hard for finals (I really will, once I finish this)…
…enjoying the opportunities the United States provides and preparing to make the most of them.
posted by Mike and Jean Anne at 8:24 PM
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