Oh...hello there! It's been a while hasn't it? It seems whenever I say I'll blog, I never do. But let me explain myself...
I've been holding off on this post for a while now. Even sitting here, I'm not exactly sure how to craft my thoughts into words (tbh, I dislike writing, haha). Let me begin, however, by saying that this summer has been incredible -- truly one of the best summers of my life. To be given the opportunity to live, work, and travel in China and Korea for 10 weeks -- wow, just wow. I couldn't be more blessed/thankful. Because of this, I felt that it was more important for me to "live in the moment" rather than documenting every single little thing that I did. And I'm glad that I chose to do this.
On my NSLI-Y trip, I had this mindset that if I didn't blog about my experiences, I would slowly forget them all; however, that's not true. Even though it's been two years, I still remember. I remember the bus rides, the people, the food, the KTV, the park dancing, the shave ice shop next to Zhejiang University. I remember it all. That's not to say that Hangzhou hasn't changed. In fact, it's changed a lot. During a weekend in July, I was able to revisit Hangzhou for a day, and boy, was it different. The sky was murkier due to the growing pollution problem in China; buildings that were still in construction two years ago are now complete; the subway has been extended from the eastern part of Hangzhou to the West Lake area (which I was able to ride for the first time!); many of the shops along University Avenue nearby Zhejiang University has been closed and abandoned (but much to our surprise, the shave ice place was still open! It is under new management, but it had the same blue interior, the same cute cafe layout, the same menu [faded, but still readable], and the same great tasting mango shave ice). Like Hangzhou, I'm a different person from the one I was two years ago. As a result, I decided to do things a bit differently this time around.
I've learned that living and interning in another country can be lonely -- really lonely. I've been to China two times beforehand. Once with NSLI-Y and another with my college. When I was with NSLI-Y, I was on a study abroad program. Things seemed so easy. I lived with a host family who fed me 2-3 meals a day and babied me. I was grouped with 18 other Americans, so it was easy to make friends and explore the city (putting yourself out there is always easier when you have people to support you). Because I adapted well, it honestly didn't feel real. Fast-forward to my trip with my college last spring break. It was only for a week, so I got to experience the touristy side of China :) What was that like, you ask? Tiring. The majority of the trip was spent touring companies like Walmart, Hyundai, and Volvo, while the other half was spent pigging out on 20-course meals and visiting sites like the Great Wall, the Bund, etc. Now...this summer. It was different. I'll explain in a different post because I think this is getting waaay too long, and I'm getting tired :)
I've been holding off on this post for a while now. Even sitting here, I'm not exactly sure how to craft my thoughts into words (tbh, I dislike writing, haha). Let me begin, however, by saying that this summer has been incredible -- truly one of the best summers of my life. To be given the opportunity to live, work, and travel in China and Korea for 10 weeks -- wow, just wow. I couldn't be more blessed/thankful. Because of this, I felt that it was more important for me to "live in the moment" rather than documenting every single little thing that I did. And I'm glad that I chose to do this.
On my NSLI-Y trip, I had this mindset that if I didn't blog about my experiences, I would slowly forget them all; however, that's not true. Even though it's been two years, I still remember. I remember the bus rides, the people, the food, the KTV, the park dancing, the shave ice shop next to Zhejiang University. I remember it all. That's not to say that Hangzhou hasn't changed. In fact, it's changed a lot. During a weekend in July, I was able to revisit Hangzhou for a day, and boy, was it different. The sky was murkier due to the growing pollution problem in China; buildings that were still in construction two years ago are now complete; the subway has been extended from the eastern part of Hangzhou to the West Lake area (which I was able to ride for the first time!); many of the shops along University Avenue nearby Zhejiang University has been closed and abandoned (but much to our surprise, the shave ice place was still open! It is under new management, but it had the same blue interior, the same cute cafe layout, the same menu [faded, but still readable], and the same great tasting mango shave ice). Like Hangzhou, I'm a different person from the one I was two years ago. As a result, I decided to do things a bit differently this time around.
I've learned that living and interning in another country can be lonely -- really lonely. I've been to China two times beforehand. Once with NSLI-Y and another with my college. When I was with NSLI-Y, I was on a study abroad program. Things seemed so easy. I lived with a host family who fed me 2-3 meals a day and babied me. I was grouped with 18 other Americans, so it was easy to make friends and explore the city (putting yourself out there is always easier when you have people to support you). Because I adapted well, it honestly didn't feel real. Fast-forward to my trip with my college last spring break. It was only for a week, so I got to experience the touristy side of China :) What was that like, you ask? Tiring. The majority of the trip was spent touring companies like Walmart, Hyundai, and Volvo, while the other half was spent pigging out on 20-course meals and visiting sites like the Great Wall, the Bund, etc. Now...this summer. It was different. I'll explain in a different post because I think this is getting waaay too long, and I'm getting tired :)
