This morning it struck me yet again: I don't live in China anymore.
We've been home for the summer before, but for the last four summers it was always with the knowledge that we were going back. This time it's wierd. We're settling in, changing our address, and not going back. Not going back to the friendships and shopping in the open markets. Not going back to the Mandarin roar constantly flowing around us. Not going back to the persistent honking and voices and city sounds. Not going back.
China is starting to seem very surreal, since life here is so vastly different. In past summers, knowing we were going back kept it at the forefront, plus people were always asking us questions about it. Now the questions are almost all about our future, not our past, so the whole experience is starting to fade. I don't like that.
Garry is fully ensconsed in his job and loving it, and Amanda and I are left job and house-hunting. The housing market here is bulging at the seams but we haven't found just the right place yet. The job market is completely depressed, and finding even a WalMart or McDonalds job is next to impossible, much less a nice receptionist or librarian job. So, we wait for Father's timing in all things.
I am reminded (yet again) that life is full of hard things about every phase you are in, no matter what continent you live on. I guess that's part of what keeps us focused on our true future.
China is starting to seem very surreal, since life here is so vastly different. In past summers, knowing we were going back kept it at the forefront, plus people were always asking us questions about it. Now the questions are almost all about our future, not our past, so the whole experience is starting to fade. I don't like that.
Garry is fully ensconsed in his job and loving it, and Amanda and I are left job and house-hunting. The housing market here is bulging at the seams but we haven't found just the right place yet. The job market is completely depressed, and finding even a WalMart or McDonalds job is next to impossible, much less a nice receptionist or librarian job. So, we wait for Father's timing in all things.
I am reminded (yet again) that life is full of hard things about every phase you are in, no matter what continent you live on. I guess that's part of what keeps us focused on our true future.
