Now that we’ve been here in China almost 2 years, a new wave
of culture shock has (temporarily, I hope!) washed over me. In our initial
months here, there was the obvious: not speaking the language, different level
of public hygiene, squattie potties, different foods and smells, different
driving/biking road rules, getting started at work, not knowing the social cues
and expectations, etc.
Though there is still a lot to learn in all of those areas,
we have become much more accustomed to the things that bothered us so much when
we first arrived. We have been studying Chinese and can have simple
conversations with neighbors and business people and we know where to shop for
the foods we like to have. We’ve made friends and gotten involved in various
homeschooling co-ops, our church community, small group, and neighbors. The
children have a lot of friends to play with and that has made all the
difference for the whole family.
I would say that overall we are faring well and looking
forward with hope. But, from what we have read and heard, culture shock comes
in different phases and hits harder at times. I, Laurel, am currently
struggling with some of those emotions despite still feeling optimistic about
living in China.
We are planning to come home to the US for the summer and
are all very excited about seeing everyone and being surrounded by our
countrymen and native language. But, I do hold some sadness in my heart that we
are just visiting. Our home is here in China, though we are not from here. We have made it home and know
that we will likely remain here for a number of years, but it isn’t exactly
“ours.” America birthed me and I grew up digging in her soil, running across
her suburban yards, and biking through her streets. My family, friends, and
neighbors taught me my mother tongue and gave me my culture. In adulthood I
served in America’s armed forces in her defense against all enemies, foreign
and domestic.
This summer we will return, visitors to our homeland, not
really “home,” but living out of suitcases. We will soak up all we can of
Benjamin Franklin’s library legacy and regular visits to a good deli for
pastrami on rye, but there won’t be time to sign up for ballet lessons or
baseball as we are only there a short time, traveling from place to place,
visiting our loved ones. I have realized that my children’s experience growing
up will be so very different from “back home,” and while that is inevitable,
there are times when I am saddened by it even though they get to learn Chinese
from a very young age.
The daily experience of living in China is also quite
different. Though I have gotten used to hang-drying our laundry, our loud and
temperamental washing machine has begun to grate on my nerves. Some neighbors
complained about the noise it made during the 12 noon to 3 pm “resting time,”
so if I don’t get the load in early enough, I am off track for the day with
planning ahead how much I can wash and hang dry in time to get the next load
done and put away. Calling a repairman is an option, but after my experience
with calling in professionals to “fix” things, I am quite leery. Duct tape and
other jury-rigging tends to be the way most things are handled here and I’m
just not satisfied with that type of “help” in some situations. So, for now I
am working on keeping the laundry schedule going so as not to interrupt rest
time. And, Jason is an emerging handy man and proud new owner of a soldering
iron, which we needed to fix our big transformer that we use to run our US
Kitchen Aid mixer. I’m thankful for that transformer not just because it lets
me mix in style, but also because it sits atop our refrigerator that is missing
a front foot and leans forward when you open the door. That transformer is a
nice, heavy counterweight that keeps the fridge from doing that annoying tip! Win
win!
In the past 4 weeks, internet connectivity has been quite
awful, preventing us from streaming much of anything and generally being a
nuisance when trying to check email or get any sort of work done on a website
that does not originate within China. (Example: Can't get any pictures uploaded to put with this post, so all text this time around) For a number of weeks, even the
in-country sites were terribly slow. Though connectivity has improved bit by
bit, it is very spotty and unreliable and has been a source of distress for me.
Realizing how much we depend on the internet for so many things (banking,
communication, work, homeschooling, entertainment) is a bit distressing, but
the added discomfort of feeling “stuck” in a strange land without that
connection makes it all the more poignant. Chinese sites have begun to resume
at a regular pace and we have been able to keep up with episodes of US shows on
the not-concerned-about-copyright websites that post entire seasons, so that’s
the upside!
