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I’ve been in China for about 4 months now, and I’ve slowly come to miss certain things from back home. I knew I would eventually start to miss certain foods, like burritos and lasagna, but the things I’ve come to miss most were not things I ever really anticipated missing. I’ve compiled a list of the top 5 things that I currently miss the most from the Western World (aka California).
Top 5 Things I Miss from the Western World
5. Speaking “Real” English
I work at a university which is taught predominately in English. However, the majority of students, and many teachers, seem to have missed the information saying this was an English school before enrolling here. In order to communicate with the students, I find myself speaking in what can best be described as “Chinglish,” the combination of English and Chinese. My grammar is slowly deteriorating since I find myself speaking in the simplest, frequently incorrect ways in hopes that the students will be able to understand.
4. Being Anonymous
No one told me that being a Westerner in China will make you a celebrity. You can’t walk anywhere without people blatantly staring and pointing at you for looking different. They don’t even try to be subtle about it. You can be walking down the street and a car will pull up next to you, slow down, roll down the windows, and the driver and all the passengers will just stare. And if you look really different (if you are anything other than Asian) they will take your picture. Sometimes, someone will even pull you aside to take a picture with you, with or without your permission. At times, it would be really nice to be able to go about your day without every Chinese person around staring at you like a giant, strange “ostrich” walking down the street.
3. Personal Space
Maybe it’s because I come from a small town, but I really enjoy having a large personal space bubble around myself. China, with its nearly 1 billion people, though, does not seem to have any concept about what personal space is. On the bus, walking down the street, or standing in line, you are guaranteed to have at least 5 Chinese people standing as close to you as possible in order to cram more and more people in. Maximum capacity really does not seem to apply anywhere, since you can always cram closer and closer to others.
2. Cheese
Sometimes all you want is a giant bowl of mac and cheese, but for some reason, the Chinese seem to have no desire to use cheese as sparingly as some of us are used to. Chinese food is all about rice, noodles, veggies and pork. Sure, the Chinese are great at making food savory, sweet or spicy, but cheesy is not a dish they care about. No where in the recipe does it call for a block of cheese, which is all this California girl wants.
1. Clothes Dryers
In the summer in China, when it is 80 degrees outside with 90% humidity, hanging clothes out to dry is simple. Your clothes will be dry in just a few hours. In winter, however, when it is raining outside with 90% humidity, hanging clothes out to dry is a royal pain. Clothes hang around for weeks while they dry, and when you run out of clean clothes, wearing slightly soggy jeans and shirts isn’t the most pleasant thing.
