Amid the Hustle and Bustle

With our departure coming up, my friends and I have had a variety of emotions. I have nostalgia for home, but at the same time I am glad to have been here. I grew to love Shanghai now, but it was not instant upon arrival.  Unlike my fellow students, I had to explore, step out of my comfort zone, and take a greater look at what was in front of me to gain my new found appreciation.  I am happy to return home, but I will definitely miss it here.

Shanghai has a unique spark I have found during my time here.  There is the excitement of it being a great city with many things to do, yet at the same time it is so easy to feel overwhelmed by all that it has to offer.  I sometimes found myself wandering unsure of what to do or where to go.  The people are nice, especially once you get to know the culture and customs.  I will definitely miss how genuine they are.

Amid the hustle and bustle of a city, I found a bit of comfort knowing that I was such a small fish in a big pond. I learned my coworkers were just as normal as I was, even when I occasionally felt distant from them due to the language barrier.  One was planning her wedding; another has a young daughter who was born in the States; and another, who is as quiet as a mouse, is someone I will cherish forever.  I had the opportunity to interview her for a paper I have to write for my Intercultural Communication in China class.  We began with her age, and once she told me this, I was at awe.  She was much older, about ten years at least, than what I expected.  She then began to answer questions about her life and the Chinese culture, but then we moved to more personal questions.  We discussed our favorite movies, foods, and I even explained to her what Netflix was. After our talk, I knew I would miss her.  We did not talk much, but this one small conversation I had with her I’ll never forget.

As I left work the last day, I knew that the way that I felt about Shanghai is exactly the way I felt after this conversation: I did not have the same experience here as many of my friends, but the interaction I had, will remain a part of my life and memories forever.  I will miss Shanghai.

The post Amid the Hustle and Bustle appeared first on CRCC Asia.