Conclusion.

I feel obligated to write one last goodbye post to conclude my Beijing adventure.  I believe that travel is not complete without a return. The return itself can be noteworthy because it allows the traveler to see home in a new way -- a way influenced by the adventures had in the foreign land.

Returning from China was certainly an experience for me. First, although I spent less than two weeks in Beijing, I had developed several mindsets that I had to break upon returning to America. And I had to break these very quickly.

The interplay of rules and no rules gave me a taste for bargaining. This is a great skill to have in life, but you should also know when it's appropriate to use. I cannot look at the price tags at American stores anymore without eyeballing the true price (which is usually at most 10% of the tag) and wanting to bargain for it. Furniture shopping was especially difficult and I could not put it off because I really had to get a bed. Clothing is just a whole new level of self control. I can barely accept a $30-tag on a t-shirt when I know I could have payed just a couple dollars for it if I were allowed to bargain Chinese-style. Oh well. I guess more than just the product itself is included in American price tags.

Although shopping has become painful (especially now that I'm living off of a graduate student stipend and pay my own bills), navigating in a city is a piece of cake. Cars stop for pedestrians, most people obey traffic lights, and if you indicate to a car that you want to cross in front of it, the driver will make a horrified face and slam the brakes, instead of smiling and flooring the gas as in Beijing.

I don't get stopped to get photos taken because most people here have seen white people enough to no longer be surprised by them.

There aren't many crowds here, but when I'm in a slightly crowded area, I can expect not to get cut in line, or not to get bumped into without an effusive apology following the encounter.

I'm no longer one of the tallest, so I can wear heels again without feeling like a nail that's sticking out (Chinese saying: "The nail that sticks out gets hammered"). I do get very excited when I hear Chinese or see Chinese people. I want to run over and tell them what an adventure I had and how I appreciate their culture. I also understand where some of the Chinese fashion seen in California is coming now. I've also grown to love harem pants. They are pants but are loose and fashionable -- perfect for hot work days.

I appreciate that I live in a land where I am allowed to write almost whatever I want (such as this blog) and I can take photos of almost anything almost anywhere without people screaming at me and prohibiting photos of even the most mundane objects. Anyone who's seen me probably knows that I point my camera lens anywhere that looks curious or cool. After 10 days in the relatively Western Beijing, I feel free in my country and I appreciate the tenets governing our land even more than I did before.

Food-wise, I do miss good Chinese food. Panda Express just doesn't do it anymore. I've gotten good at chopsticks, so going out to sushi is no longer an intimidating and frightening venture. Sometimes I do miss the eating etiquette of China. It's main principle is "eat your food efficiently" and there are no concerns of who eats first, how to sit, etc. I loved the red bean desserts and the hot water and tea served with meals. I might try asking for hot water instead of iced water next time I go out here. I'd have to make sure it's boiled and not just heated. I'm curious to see the reaction. I also miss the soups that are actually liquid and not creamy.

After coming back, a lot of people would ask me how my trip went. At first I'd be stumped, but quickly I developed a set of answers. First, Beijing came out to be more Western than I had expected. Perhaps this is because it was the first place to be openly exposed to Western culture in the past century. I'm so grateful to Cece for showing me around and being very patient will al of my questions and photos. If I had gone alone, I would have seen the tourist's version and I certainly would not have eaten as well or learned to bargain as well (although if you ask Cece, I suspect she'll secretly tell you that I'm still too naive in bargaining). I'd also bring up the smog with people local to LA. I could look up at the sun without sunglasses and it would look like a lamp. I'd also say what a great time I had with Cece and of course, I'd bring up the Hollister/Abercrombie models.

Thank you for following my blog and thank you for your good wishes and useful advice!

Cheers,
Nina.

Some leftover photos.