Coming to China or Leaving America?

What goes through your head on that long walk to the airplane is one of many things. Undoubtedly, these thoughts are different to each individual. For the opportunity to live in China is built on a bed of expectations. Quickly, I discovered that expectations would be shattered, unrealistic or abandoned altogether.

Case in point: I expected sun not rain when the flight landed. I expected to be practically detained while going through customs but breezed through without a glance. I expected to be the only volunteer going to law school in the future, instead I was one of several.

I have quickly learned that expectations are what nightmares are made of. There is no need to expect what you believe the unknown to be. Especially here.

I have been in China for 28 days, my longest time spent out of America. Already, the stress of daily Chinese life is noticeable and contagious. A clunky, noisy, congested city full of anywhere from 2.1 to 6 million people depending on who you ask. My lungs have burned from pollution and the impact of 1.3 billion people living in close proximity. The fireworks, the constant honking of passing cars, people dodging in and out of traffic and the seemingly incessant speech of entrepreneurs trying to sell you things from pig intestines to piccolos. This is China and nothing is out of the ordinary.

The language barrier, the smells, the sounds, all of them prove daunting tasks to face. The spicy food, sits well on my stomach only for 2-3 days at a time before I crave bread and milk.

Through all of this, the dust, people traffic and noise, I am happy to have found that the Chinese people are fulfilled my expectation that they would be almost relentlessly friendly.

Already, I have been shepherded around the city by an English tutor, been lead to the train station by three girls at my school, been shown the sights of a Bhuddist temple by a fluent English-speaking monk.

To no end, the Chinese have their eyes set on me and on my behavior. I find that even though that can be upsetting or annoying as it has become over the past week, if I asked that individual a question, I would be greeted with a response and a smile, even if I couldn't understand it.

So maybe it is good to have expectations about things but I am slowly learning that to do so in China is unrealistic. For the pace, the people and the flow of life, dictate things in a way that make you feel powerless. It brings a whole new meaning to the word, flexibility.