Back home

Houston, Mississippi, and Shanghai, China, are unbelievably different places.

Despite my undying love for China and everything (ok, almost everything) Chinese, I am happy to spend some time at home. I am happy to see my family and friends. I am happy to smell clean, autumn air. I am happy to drive my car. I am happy to eat Southern food. I am happy to start classes next semester at Ole Miss.

But I'm sad, too. I'm sad to leave Shanghai. I'm sad to leave my new friends who made last semester great. I'm sad to be this far away from my host family, who in 4 short months became a real family to me. I'm sad to leave a city with unlimited opportunities, only to come back to a place where I sometimes feel I've exhausted all of the educational and career options available to me.

Nonetheless, I'm glad to be back. My home was definitely a sight for sore eyes after the concrete forests of Shanghai.


Now, it's time to go eat. I'm writing a column about life in China for my community newspaper, so I'll post that when it's published.

Until then,

Matthew

Goodbye Shanghai

In 9 hours, I will be on a plane headed for Detroit.

I've had a great six months in China, but I'm looking forward to spending some time back home in Mississippi.

Wish me luck!

M

A Roots & Shoots Christmas and a Chinese Wedding

Thursday, I went to the German Consulate's annual Christmas Market to sell trees for Roots and Shoots' Million Tree Project. The consulate invited 2 NGOs to sell their products - R&S and Felt, an organization that works with physically and mentally challenged Chinese people to make felt jewelry, the proceeds of which go directly back to them. In total, I raised 1700 RMB, or enough to buy 68 trees, which is pretty good for three hours of work. Actually, I got to meet a lot of interesting people, sample the gluehwein, and have some authentic German sausages and pretzels, so I'm not sure if calling it "work" is really fair...


I've been sick all weekend, so I didn't do anything other than study for next week's finals and rest until Saturday. That night, I went with my tutor Ding Xiong-fei to a traditional Chinese wedding. I didn't have a chance to take any pictures, but if I had to use one word to describe it, I'd say it was 热闹 (rènɑo adj. lively).

Unlike American weddings, which usually have a somber ceremony followed by a reception, the Chinese combine the two. Guests are invited to a huge dining hall, where food is served and they can watch the couple get married while eating. An emcee hosts the service, and it can take on a game show-like appeal. I have to admit, I prefer the American style. But you can't argue that Chinese weddings are a lot of fun.

After the wedding, I went to Xiong-fei's cousin's house to play Ma Jiang. I won once (because I was being coached by "the expert"). Turns out Ma Jiang in China is a lot different than American style...