In my previous post, I wrote about homesickness. My way of
overcoming a longing for another place and people is involving myself with the
place I’m in and the people I’m around. There’s an old song about that—something
about loving the one you’re with. It applies here, but not in the way the song originally
intended.
Exploring is one of my favorite things to do. I love it.
Seeing new things, meeting new people, and learning about everything around me
is my happy place. In the U.S., I go new places frequently and don’t really
give it a lot of thought. In China, I’m much more hesitant. This afternoon, I
followed a known routine. I took the subway to a familiar place, bought groceries,
and returned to campus. While I was out, though, a wonderful thing happened.
One of the international students, Jamal from Pakistan, invited me to go to the
night market with him. I was thrilled!
Jamal is a 25-year-old graduate student from a small town in
northern Pakistan. He is the youngest of seven children and is avoiding adult
responsibilities by going to graduate school in China. I learned so much tonight!
We talked about media representations of Pakistan and travel within the
country. He educated me about his practice of the Muslim faith and arranged
marriage. He talked about his mother, niece, and nephew. I told him about my husband
and children. We laughed and told stories about being foreigners and agreed
that living in China was an awesome opportunity that had to be seized when it
was available.
The market was super cool but learning about a new person in
a new place was even cooler. It was incredibly kind of Jamal to invite me on an
adventure. I so appreciate the invitation and enjoyed every minute learning
about my new friend.
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