another time and place
Today is my last Sunday as a resident of Qingdao. I went to church this morning. After our little service ended, we all sat around and pigged out on taco salad, fruit, and dessert. With our mouths full, we chatted with each other, took pictures, said how much we’d miss each other, and promised to keep in touch and visit each other next year. A few people shed some tears. And then we left. That was it.
In a few days I’ll be home in California. I’ll unpack. I’ll look at a few of the pictures we took. I’ll remember what this person sounded like when she laughed. I’ll remember how a couple of us joked about starting a fan club in honor of one of our friends. I’ll remember how much of a kick a few of us got out of pretending that the hand signal for “W.C.” was actually a gang symbol. No one at home will really get it. To them, it’ll just be a collection of people in a different part of the world.
“You and that girl used to hate each other?” they’ll ask.
Yeah, we did. But we’re cool now. It just took a little time to adjust.
“Who’s that guy?”
He was our team leader. He was a nice guy but sometimes we’d have to tell him something a few times in order for him to remember it.
They nod.
“So hey, what do you feel like eating for dinner? Did you catch the last game of the NBA finals?”
And then I’ll be back in reality. Different time, different place. They don’t really get it. I really can’t expect them to. The things that, to me, were so real during the past year will be confined to a few snapshots and a whole bunch of memories.
But isn’t it always like that? You go somewhere. You have a life there. You go back to the one you knew, you feel like you’re a changed person. These experiences have shaped you. Anyone can see that!
But nobody can. And that’s ok. The memories and the things we did and the people we knew are real. It only has to matter to the people involved. Right? At least, that’s what I tell myself sometimes.
Living life on two levels.
June 26th, 2005 at 7:29 am
Hi, my dear cousin Josh! Are you in China now, and how long have you been here? How come I don’t know anything about this?? I’m in China now for my summer holiday, and will be going to Beijing on the 28th. Are you flying back to the states from Beijing? When are you going back to the states anyway? I thought you just disappeared, and i don’t even know which e-mail address you are using now. I really miss you a lot!