While I work on a really long, multi-part post that attempts to sum up my thoughts about completing my first year living overseas, here are random thoughts that I had during/after my first visit back to Boston as a non-resident. (I have posted some of these on Twitter or Facebook while on vacation. If so I apologize for the repetition if you follow me there.):
A couple of days before I started my trip, I had a 2 hour sit down with a 9-year American resident of Beijing (who has been coming back and forth since 1989) and he told me what to expect from my trip. He told me what questions I would be asked, in which order they would be asked, the look in people’s eyes as they asked them and the conclusions that I would draw from my experiences. I’m here to tell you: He was almost 100% correct. It’s actually pretty scary how spot-on he was. Apparently, there a lots of other people in the world who move away from home to live in a foreign land. And here I thought that I was unique!
Opening weekend was spent in West Hrtford, CT with Josh, his wife Kate, their son Bennett (“Max” to me) and their soon-to-be-delivered fetus. Had an amazing, relaxing time. Could not have asked for better accommodations. I love staying with them.
While in NYC on my way home, I had a great moment with my buddy Helen that turned into a blog post by her. Then I had another great moment when I switched into “professional editor” mode and helped her polish it. (Hard to believe that I’m a “professional” anything!)
Speaking of Helen, she is a wicked awesome Scrabble player. I actually toyed with the idea of staying in NYC for another day just to get another couple of games in with her. (She absolutely, mercilessly kicked my ass. Damn, I miss her.)
Boston is no longer my “home.” It’s “where I’m from, originally.” Always part of my identity, but no longer a place of being for me.
Nightlife in Boston vs. nightlife in Beijing? Not even worth comparing. I look back in bewilderment at myself for being as enthralled as I was by it years ago. Wow.
Oh boy did I ever appreciate the fact that most people don’t smoke. And the few left who do are forced to stand outside. I miss smoke-free bars & restaurants!
While in the US I did not miss the ever-present spitting.
I watched almost zero TV while I was back. I thought that I would have wanted to watch more. Aside from a couple of late-night movies, a stray episode or two of The Daily Show and a Patriots & Red Sox game, I didn’t watch the TV at all. I didn’t even realize it, but while living here, I have developed a habit of NOT watching TV.
On a related note, I finished two books while I was there, including one that I had intended to bring back with me. Had to buy a replacement.
Tried watching the pilot episode of Mad Men on the flight back. It was OK, but it didn’t really hold my interest. I had no trouble changing the channel about 2/3 of the way through it.
I didn’t know it until I was walking down Dongzhimen Wai towards my apartment, surrounded by the great unwashed masses (me included- good LORD did I ever stink), but I missed hearing Chinese all of the time. Even more, I missed hearing all kinds of languages being spoken all around me all of the time. Boston’s an international city, but not really.
One of the coolest Chinese people that I have ever met lives in Boston and I got to meet her on this trip. She even cooked me dinner and let me crash at her place for a night. I hope that Haiyan includes Beijing on her next trip back here.
America’s subway & rail system is a freaking EMBARRASSMENT compared to what people have got in Beijing and elsewhere around the world. It’s incredibly sad and people should be pissed.
Time waiting at Customs upon arrival in the US (in the US Citizens’ line): 30-40 minutes. When I got back to Beijing I was through 2 health checkpoints and the foreigners’ entry line in less time than it took me to actually fill out my forms. Why the hell can’t we do that in the US?!
I was not shy about waiving down wait staff in restaurants and I missed being able to yell out “Fuwuyuan!” so much that I couldn’t help myself on more than a couple of occasions.
Damn, that steak and cheese sub was tasty! It was greasy and I felt like crap after eating it, but it was so worth it.
I never did get a deep-dish pizza. It’s on the list for the next trip. Had some amazing New York-style though.
I knew that I enjoyed eating with chopsticks, but I didn’t realize just how much until I went to Dim Sum with my cousin Jenine and awesome friend Christine. (Yes, I actually went out for Chinese food while I was on vacation in the US. Look, I haven’t actually had any Dim Sum since I got here 15 months ago so I was craving it. And it was China Pearl. It’s good, dammit.)
It took me a week before I was able to actually finish a US-sized portion meal at any restaurant that I went to. We Americans eat a truly absurd amount of food at each sitting. After over a year eating China-sized dishes, I had forgotten how insane the meal sizes were. For instance, I got a quesadilla appetizer at a bar that was at least as big as a main dish at a restaurant in China… and those dishes are meant to be shared by multiple diners!
I took a 2+ hour train ride to Portland, ME because I wanted a damn good lobster roll. It was totally worth it, mostly because of the company that I had. In case I haven’t mentioned it before in this forum, my friend Jazzie is frickin’ awesome.
And one final note on the crap that we eat. I woke up one morning and went to the supermarket with Alisa. I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet so when I got there, of course I could not walk two steps without coming to a pile of something that I wanted to devour. Somehow I resisted the urge to bite into the food that was all around me and I walked over to the Dunkin’ Donuts stand and got myself a bagel. Just as soon as I finished a few bites and my insane hunger had been sated, it was like a switch flipped in my head: All of a sudden, the piles of Entemann’s pastries, sugary cereals, cakes, potato chips and other displays full of easily-accessible junk food didn’t look appetizing to me anymore. It was kind of gross and more than a little bit disturbing. The grocery stores here are nothing like they are back in the US.
Check out this site for a list of all of the amazing foods that exist only in America.
No surprise, but I gained some weight back from this trip. It was delicious, though.
I still don’t like beer, but I swear that I kinda missed Tsingtao.
Nobody’s coming to visit me, at least not any time soon, except for Josh and Jazzie. I’m actually more OK with this than I thought that I’d be.
I missed my friends in Beijing a LOT more than I thought that I would.
Apple picking is wicked fun and is still one of my favorite activities to do with my brother & my friends. A nice 40-minute drive out to Shelburne Farms for some orchard-walking and cider donut-eating is a great way to spend a Sunday in October.
Watched a bunch of movies on the plane ride home, including “Iron Jawed Angels.” That was a very, very good flick. You should really watch it.
Speaking of the flight, I was surprised at how easy the trip was. In both directions, I had no trouble enduring the 13+ hours in the plane. Honestly, I think that I could hack that every month.
I never get jet lagged. The secret is to not sleep on the flight.
Towards the end of my trip I Went to Bry & Liz’ engagement party. Had an awesome time. (Got pretty tipsy on the wine.) I actually vut out a bit early to go an see 3 of my cousins. One of the 3 (they are all sisters) had a birthday and scheduled a get-together at some skanky post-college meat market bar near Fanieul Hall. I went there and they never showed up. It turns out that some of their party couldn’t get in (because they were young-looking and already drunk by 10:00pm) and instead of coming in to get me they just assumed that I would call them when they didn’t show. Of course I don’t have any of their numbers. Not only did I waste my time by hanging out in that crummy bar for 90 minutes, but I left Bry’s party early. AND my cousins all missed out on getting gifts. It was the only bad experience of my trip.
So now I’m back. I wonder what Year #2 will bring me.
