Zhong guo (The China Experience): Home Sweet Home

"We're not in Kansas anymore," yet we still are. I have two married suite mates who come from the great state of Kansas. They, along with my friends Sean and Kathy, are here to stay and, along with me, call Tianjin their home. I did not have to look far to find my circle of support and comraderie -- it came to my doorstep.

I should explain a bit about each of these wonderful persons. First of all, they, like me, seem to be on a quest for something more. They all want to explore more in life, step outside their boundaries and broaden their horizons. They are ready for the risks and the rewards. Speaking of this, I was at a stall in the bathroom, where I read the following: "although the risks my be big, the beautiful reward will be your new perspective." This corresponded with a kitty trying to leap to another branch ^_^

The biggest leap so far has been from Kathy. She comes from the Phillipines; who would have thought Alma?? It is an interesting connection, because my former boss and Austin mom comes from the Phillipines. In any case, Kathy seems like a nice person. She still seems quite nervous and somewhat shy (don't blame her, she didn't know anyone in China before she left), but I will do my best to make her stay in China more comfortable. I feel that this might be my way of exercising the extreme gratitude I have towards Alma and Tony for the love and support they consistently gave me back in Austin.

(Filipino) Kathy's on the right:

Tom and Kathy (who is in the middle) are the Kansas couple and are a wonderful presence at the school. Tom is a very intelligent, soft spoken man who has a nice sense of humor; the other day, we were laughing at the lock of a window door being on the inside where no one could reach it (I'll take a picture of this one).

From what I understand, Tom is teaching MBA classes and has previously taught English in China. Kathy, his wife, is a very nice woman, sort of reminds me of Judy, Brian's mother-in-law. She is very respectful, has a willingness to learn new things and has already almost been like a mother to me. She was telling me that she and Tom have 4 grown children and are always willing to take in more kids; in fact, they hosted a Japanese girl for a year I believe. This is interesting, because the Japanese girl fell in love with an American. I found all this out when I had asked them for advice on my length of stay in China.

Allow me to explain. Don't get me wrong, China is great -- the people are wonderful, the food is delicious and my teaching job is a lot of fun. But, all of that can't erase the emptiness in my heart, my desire to see Lily again. I walk the streets, ride the subway, eat in restaurants, and experience new things without the person with whom I had spent my summer days. Lily has become a lot to me, she (and of course, Brian) is my traveling buddy, my companion, and I miss her a lot. I wonder if being here for another semester would be too much... this is what I had asked Tom and Kathy. And, not just that, but I believe I will have many opportunities to see China again with Lily. This has been a thought on my mind in the past week.

The last person in my guesthouse, but the one with whom I share a lot in common, is Sean. He's a funny guy, has very humorous mannerisms and can make me crack up in the middle of a sentence. In some ways, he almost reminds me of Bill Murray's character in "Lost in Translation." For Sean, China has been an intriguing experience to say the least. He has somewhat of a condescending approach towards Chinese, yet still saves room to be open-minded towards their habits. It's hard to say, never really know what he's thinking -- I guess that's what makes him interesting. Overall, he's a really smart guy (graduate from Vanderbilt) and like me, has a wandering spirit and adventuresome heart.

I think all of these people have made my stay thus far in China very pleasant. As always, it is elevated to another, more intimate level when I spend my days with mama and baba. I'm at their place now, and will be here until next Sunday.

I gave you the words last time, thought I'd provide the pictures. Enjoy!

Here's my room:

My homage to lao lao (American pappy and Chinese pappy):

This evening, Chinese lao lao was so cute! He reminds me a lot of pappy -- I miss grandpa a lot. I was thinking about the mornings when I'd wake up really early, and see him in the dining room, reading his bible. Good times :)

Outside the guesthouse: