Final Stretch

Hard to believe this is my last week in China! Seems like it wasn't too long ago that I was sitting in my room wondering what China would be like. Its like I closed my eyes and the time came and passed. Two months sounds like a good long chunk of time when you say it out loud, but when you stop thinking about it and just live in the moment day to day, it is shocking how quickly it goes by.

Old style of housing. This is right next to my apartment building.

At any rate, China has been quite the experience. As I sit here in the room that I have grown so accustomed to, it is almost hard to imagine not living here anymore. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I am a girl addicted to routines and when I walked home today and swiped my key against the entrance door's monitor system, I finally realized that I have grown accustomed to a new routine. New in the sense, that I have got my China routine down to pat. Its funny to because even something simple like riding the bus, which trust me was somewhat of a challenge when I first got here ( had a couple of mishaps: wrong direction, wrong stop, not realizing that I needed to get off because it was the buses last stop, etc. hehe), has become second nature. I was lucky enough to snag a seat on my bus ride home from work and as I listened to the music playing on my iPod,  my tired body began to relax and melt away into my chair ushering my mind drift away into dreamy and nostalgic thoughts. The cool thing is, even though I was mentally in another place, I somehow managed to hear bus intercom system faintly calling out  "xia yi zhan: xiao tun" (next stop is Xiao Tun) just at the right time to make my speedy exit off the bus. Now I don't know if anyone will believe this, but I happen to think that before I heard the intercom, I just felt it was time to get off. It is almost like my body has set a self-timer that is synched up with my bus route and I can just feel it when I am getting close. Granted, I have some geographical indicators, a huge two story McDonalds, and an Audi and BMW dealership, to notify me that I am close, but still...my eyes were closed and they opened just at the right time! I guess it just goes to show you how adaptable people really are. Given any amount of time, I am convinced that I could settle into life just about anywhere. My hopes are it is somewhere pleasant, but I guess the trick is to just figure out what is pleasant and positive about every place. I know this may be overly optimistic but I like to think that every place, no matter how bad it may appear at first, is bound to have some good qualities to it. Luckily for me, I haven't had to search to hard for Beijing's positive points.

Do you see Chairman Obama-mao? Believe it or not, this t-shirt design is everywhere in Beijing.

Just like it didn't really hit me that I was going to China until I was actually in China, it doesn't really feel real that I will be back in America on Sunday. I am thinking that part of that has to do with how busy I am at work. This week seems to be one of my busiest weeks yet. I have been working away at reviewing and correcting an English translation about some of my company's products. Maybe this sounds easy, but trust me its not. My company ended up paying a translation company to translate around 60,000 words and let me tell you- I am not impressed with the translation company's work. Now I am not trying to criticize the translation company, I know more than anyone how difficult it is to translate Chinese to English and English Chinese (my Chinese teacher's are also aware of how hard I find it...hehe), but oh wow it sure does makes my job a lot harder. One thing I learned from the little experience that I have with translating, you can't translate directly. It just doesn't work. It takes some finessing. It is okay to maybe make a rough draft of a direct translation, but if you make that your final copy, then your readers are in for some crazy confusing times. Slightly amusing and funny at times...yes. But acceptable...no. Anyway, even though I am a little worried about pre-mature face wrinkles due to the amount of "huh? What does this even mean?!" faces,  it is a good feeling to know that I am helping out my host company. It is a really good and satisfying feeling to know that I am actually helping them improve their business. Almost better than getting paid...haha.

Just kidding, believe it or not, I am not upset that I didn't receive monetary compensation for my work at Beijing Twinflag Century Technology. I know it sounds cheesy, but I really felt like I have gained something more important than money. It is hard to list out everything that I think I have learned while I have been here in Beijing, but I know that not only have I acquired some valuable work experience, I have also picked up some good life experience. I think it will people take me a while to recognize how I have changed and grown during my time here. That's okay though. I don't think life always comes with a report card. Progress reports, sure. But its not always easy to just spit out direct points of growth. I am a little curious to know what Chinese habits have rubbed off on me? One thing that I have surprised myself with is my new predilection for drinking hot water. Yes my friends, I said it! When I first got to Beijing, I was pretty turned off by the idea of drinking warm water in the 98+-degree heat of the summer, but I have to admit I have grown to like it. Now I am not saying that after walking around outside I am super game to down some boiling water, but when I am relatively cool and comfortable inside, I choose to reach for the hot water instead of the cold. Something relaxing and comforting about it. Soothing. A habit I don't think I am in a hurry to drop once I get home to America.

My host mother, Shu ling, singing karaoke at my goodbye KTV party :)

Anyway, other than the usual daily work grind, I will be having a farewell lunch with some work colleagues on Friday, then a quick trip to the Summer Palace on Saturday morning and then I am off to the USA baby! Its not that I am happy to leave, but I am a firm believer that its always good to leave a little earlier than you would like because it keeps your heart itching for more. That and after months without seeing my family and friends, I am pretty stoked to go home and soak up the end of summer in the U.S.

 Traditional Chinese style bridge at the Summer Palace.

 Pretty steep bridge right?

So even though I will probably end up doing this on the plane, here is a pre goodbye China blog style:

Dear Beijing,

You have not always been easy on me and I am not sure if I will ever really get used to living with millions of people all around me at once, but I will miss you. You never cease to surprise and intrigue me. You are a mystery that I have just started to unravel and a place I can never forget. So goodbye for now, but I can tell you one thing - you have not seen the last of me! Beijing, I really see you as a gem and just like the saying goes 'diamonds are a girls best friend'...so I guess that makes us partners until the end!

Zaijian Beijing...but really yi huar jian!

Shu ling and I at the Summer Palace. This was my last day in Beijing!