Listening: Excuse me please, one more drink. Could you make it strong, 'cause I don't need to think? She broke my heart. My grace is gone. One more drink and I'll move on.
What's my problem? I already miss Asia.
It's the evil holiday's eve and I'm back in the United States. I'm at the comfortable home of two good friends in San Jose, California, which is warmer than Shanghai and cooler than Hong Kong. Since I've been back, I have had In 'n' Out burger and some barbecue. I've had salads and vegetables, two things that I had been missing during my time in Asia.
Jet lag has hit me pretty bad this time around. I wake up at weird times and am sleepy at weird times. Sometimes I just can't seem to keep my eyes open. I have tried coffee. But the thing that seems to be lagging the most is my mind. My mind is stuck in Asia. I still want to be there with its lack of good veg or not.
In a few hours, I'll be heading to the airport to catch a flight to Canada. Honestly, I wish I had a flight back to China instead.
What is it about Asia that has a hold on me? Europe doesn't have the hold on me like Asia does. Asia fills me with more of a feeling of belonging than most places that I have ever been.
Shanghai, in particular, made me feel most at home. As I walked through the streets, I looked like everyone else for the first time in my life. When I talked to locals, they were surprisingly western. There were expats and domestic transplants. There were Americans, Canadians, Taiwanese, Shanghai ren(people), Sichuan ren, Filipinos. But unlike New York City, I looked like the majority instead of yet another minority who couldn't possibly be a real "American."
In Shanghai, I couldn't possibly be an American. Where was I really from? All I could tell people then was that I come from Guandong ren. But walking down the street, I was just one of them. It was amazing.
So, for right now, I'm in America. I have plots, designs and plans to move to Shanghai in the works. I have been networking with chefs and restaurant owners in Shanghai, and they're waiting for my CV(resume) to arrive in their e-mail. The current plan is to build up some start up cash in Boston over the next six or eight months so I can land in Shanghai and be out of work for a few months as I search for a job.
The next year will be a kind of limbo. I hope to save up at least six or eight thousand dollars to land with, or else it will be a quick trip.
Well, it's time for me to go. If you're waiting for details on my China trip, I will be blogging retroactively once I get back to Boston. For now, I'll continue to post in the present tense, and as I am about to go hang out with family, I am presently tense.
Friday, December 24, 2010
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