Homesick

Ok, I admit - I'm a little homesick. Normally I don't feel this way, but when I saw this picture of Marci late last night, I wanted to go home. I don't mean Beijing either. I mean back home to New York or even New Jersey, where I can simply step out the back door of my parent's house and lay down on the grass. Or drive to upstate New York and camp out in the Catskills. Or hike in Mohonk while admiring the color changes of the leaves. Or even take Marci to Prospect Park at 8 am in the morning to watch her run around while drinking coffee and eating a warm toasted bagel with cream cheese. Oh how I miss those days...


I once sat in on a presentation, in which the speaker commented that the Latin origin of the word "to travel" was "to travail", which meant "toil", "labor" or "to make a laborious journey". He also mentioned that when the Greeks or the Romans traveled, they didn't do so for pleasure, but to war and fight with their neighbors. So the idea of traveling far and wide back in the day was not necessarily a pleasurable thing but actually something that people wanted to avoid. And here we are, living in modern times, with people like me who will purposely pack up and move across the world just to shake things up in our lives.

When I first moved out here, an expat friend told me one of his most difficult challenges was realizing that life does not stop for us while we're abroad. After being out here for a little over a year, I can attest to his statement. Since I've been gone, some people have moved as well, others have gotten engaged or married while others have continued on with their lives doing other things. We expats learn a lot and usually change our perspectives just by being in a foreign country, but that doesn't mean the people back home don't change as well.

I know I will eventually head back to the US. Another person also once told me that all expats have an exit plan for China. When will that happen? Not for awhile, not anytime in the near future. Then again, things can change, and I may decide to stay forever or move elsewhere. Technically, the US is my home, and all of the fond memories of New York and New Jersey will stay with me, but home is also not the same anymore.

All in all, I love living in China, and I learn something new everyday. And there is beautiful scenery outside of Beijing for me to enjoy. Maybe I'm feeling a little homesick because this week has been rough (although today was a good day for the most part). In the end, I don't regret any of my decisions, and I'm really happy with how things are going - professionally and personally. Maybe I'm just developing a deeper sense of appreciation for everything and everyone else back home.