As of now, I have less then a month left of my stay in China. I originally planned to stay a full two semesters abroad, but I feel overwhelmed. I just miss home. I miss getting to sit on a normal toilet. I miss getting to eat food that isn’t full of grease and MSG. I miss my family, my friends, and my girlfriend. This country is definitely an acquired taste, and not for the light of heart.

In previous entries I wrote with a lot of excitement of the adventures of I had. They were all true: I’ve had a blast here, but I don’t know if my heart lies in this place. For one, I am a lover of freedom. China is not. You can’t get youtube or facebook here because its associated with “terrorists”. Even when I’m just searching on google I have a nasty habit of looking up subversive content. My curiosity drifts where it will and, often, I find myself getting blocked in the middle of reading a paragraph.

Also, Chinese culture is one of industriousness and polite respect. People are mostly concerned with duty and material wealth. There is little culture as far as music or art goes, because, quite frankly, most people aren’t interested. There are a few history museums, but most of it is contrived for tourists and contain few actual artifacts.

Regardless, this isn’t a bad country, it has its charms, but it just took me a long time to realize that its not quite for me. I booked a flight for December 21st. Originally my plan was to surprise my family and pop in for three weeks unnoticed, but now I am flying over for good. I’ve still got some time, so I’m living it up while I can, but as far as I’m concerned I’m ready to go home.

Best Wishes,
Liam