I'm Back!

I figured I'd better write something seeing that some people think I'm still overseas. I've been home since July 11th, the date I originally planned to return. It was an odd feeling when I returned. I wasn't quite ready to jump back into my American life full scale so I remained undercover here dabbling in the free summertime activities like listening to the orchestra in Central Park (despite the storm that completely soaked us). I thought I'd kiss the ground outside JFK Airport immediately upon arrival. This isn't to say that my experience in Asia was horrible. Someone stole my camera in Beijing, I developed food poisoning just as I was about to climb the Great Wall, encountered money withdrawal hardships in Narita Airport, and the isolation I felt wandering through Tokyo just all contributed to traveler's fatigue. I just wanted to be home and I wanted to stop carrying my six week backpack of a home on my back.

I did have fun in my final week though. I loved biking around Beijing with the locals, and especially around Tiananmen Square. It's funny...as I biked around the Square, Chairman Mao's portrait looming over everyone, I realized it was the Fourth of July back home. Everyone was celebrating freedom and liberty in the States while for me, a memorial to June 4th, 1989 would have had me escorted far from Tiananmen Square by undercover guards.

Tokyo wasn't too bad either, and Sophia Coppola picked the perfect city for her film, "Lost in Translation." One fun thing about Tokyo: I was homeless for a night so I slept in a park. Don't worry, it was fine and a bunch of other people did it to. The homeless men in Tokyo are still so traditional, they leave their shoes outside their cardboard homes, or underneath the park bench they'll occupy that night! And I can see why they're homeless. Tokyo is so unbelievably expensive. $17 for a cheap movie ticket? Japanese ATM machines are a nightmare.

Growing up in Wisconsin, I just came to know that the world is a big place and there's a lot to see out there. Despite knowing this, it still took a study abroad trip to Paris to truly comprehend this. My world didn't expand on this China trip, but it did teach me that growing up an American in the United States, I have come to know so little about the world. It seems to me that given our strong position in world affairs, all that matters is the U.S., and the rest of the world doesn't play in unless there's a horrible tragedy. I met so many people from other countries who knew so much about the U.S., and I in return couldn't tell them much about what I knew of their countries. Queen of the Netherlands? Didn't know she existed, but I did meet Dutch people who could provide a list of twenty U.S. senators, and which senators are going to have tough re-election campaigns this November. Can I name three territories or provinces in Australia? No, but many Australians I met knew exactly where Wisconsin was, and even what Wisconsin is famous for. Looking back, I remember looking at a list of the most populous Chinese cities, and only knowing three of them (Beijing, Shanghai, Xian). But what about Chengdu? Kunming? Who knew these Los Angeles and Chicago-sized cities even existed? So this trip has taught me to escape an America-centric existence, to make that extra effort to take notice of what's going on here, and abroad. I need a subscription to The Economist now...
China is a cool place, and I certainly want to return. I must return, especially considering I never quite made it to the Great Wall! I encourage everyone to see China. Don't worry about the language barrier. Just know the basics and be willing to get a little creative. The scale of some of the Chinese cities and the spectacular scenery in the countryside is something you don't want to miss. And if you have any questions about going, I'm willing to provide what I can. I want to thank my sister too for posting all my blog entries while I was abroad. The Chinese government apparently does not like blogs furnished by Blogspot, so it's censored. Who knew I was so controversial? I'd been e-mailing my entries to her and she posted them for me, so thanks Jane.
That said, I don't think I'll be writing in the blog regularly anymore. Its novelty has worn off for me. Maybe if I end up making a big move to Paris or something, I'll use this blog as a forum for communicating that. I wrote nearly 60 entries over the course of the year, and so I thank all the people who took the time to read it. Bye!