The Things I Miss

Well, I've been away from home for just about a month now, and today I've been thinking some about the things I miss. Number one (no pun intended), I miss western-style public toilets. I really, really miss them. I've developed potty phobia, and no good can come of that. Number two, I miss my stove and refrigerator. I do love the food here, and I'm honestly not at all sick of Chinese food, but eating restaurant food for every single lunch and supper is tough. On the other hand, have I mentioned how much I love chopsticks? I have to say, I am a messy eater at home. I'm the person who spills food on herself at every single meal. But with chopsticks, I don't. It's some kind of crazy miracle. Part of it is that the Chinese don't seem to mind at all if you lean in right over your food. If there's a rule of etiquette that says you should bring the food up to your face rather than your face down to your food, I have not seen it followed here, and it is SO liberating, not to mention less messy.

Number three, I miss the easy life. I miss being able to order food by using my words instead of pointing, being able to ask someone where the sunglasses are in the store, getting in my car and driving myself anywhere I want to go. That kind of ease. On the other hand, I haven't had to clean my house, wash many dishes, mow the lawn, weed the garden, or attend a meeting in a month. Yeah, what am I complaining about?

I miss cheese, yogurt, butter, and cream in my coffee. This is decidedly not the land of dairy products. I used to say that a life without cheese was not a life worth living. I'd have to revise that now. Dumplings are not a cheese substitute, but they do add meaning to my life. Okay, maybe pounds, not meaning, but they are fabulous. Still, cheese. I miss it some.

Yes, I miss my friends and family, too, but Skype and email have kept me pretty happy on that front. I've talked to some of my friends more here than I did at home! Plus, in just four days, I'll be with two of my friends in Beijing. I can't wait! Please don't take that to mean that you can stop emailing, skyping, or commenting on the blog. Please, don't stop.

What I'll miss when I leave Xi'an? My students. My sweet, wonderful, incredibly bright students. Today, on a short break in class, they made my friends and me flash cards to take on our trip. I wrote out the English sentences--things like "point to it on the map," and "we don't speak Chinese. Does anyone here speak English?" and they wrote it out in Chinese characters underneath, so now we can just flash a card to people in order to begin to communicate. They even offered to give me their phone numbers if we get stuck and need an English speaker while we're traveling. I love them. I'll miss my Chinese colleagues and the friends I've made among the foreign faculty, too. I'll miss Xi'an. It's a friendly and fascinating place. Finally, I will sincerely miss my bed here. I have slept better in Xi'an than I have anywhere in the last several years. I don't know if it's the super hard mattress or the blackout curtains on the windows, but it has been incredible.
A good night's sleep makes everything better. On that note, I think I'll go to bed. Good night, folks.





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