It's hard to imagine that I've been here for more than 9 months, but the time has passed and I sit here in disbelief that I am actually leaving this place. Let me start out by saying that this was an absolutely incredible experience. I lived in a place that is as far opposite of America as anywhere in the world. I made friends from every continent, many that I will keep in touch with when I go home. I don't think that there is anyone that I know back home who has had a more interesting or fulfilling job since graduating from college.
That being said, I look forward to getting back to the states after a few weeks of traveling. Living in China was great, but I am definitely ready for something new. The cultural differences got to me every so often, more so in the latter half of my stay. Every time I got on my scooter there were instances of nearly being killed by other motorists who had no business being on a bike or in a car. Debate over monetary issues with certain contracts were incredibly tedious and overlong. My apartment was absolutely falling apart, looking something like a science project at the time we left because of poor construction and a lack of water draining in our bathroom. I began to think of my life in China as a sort of purgatory. I found certain food spots that I liked, but generally the cuisine was not to my taste. I ate at the same six restaurants for almost every meal. One of those restaurants was McDonalds. Work was good for the most part, but I had plenty of time off to do nothing. I drove my scooter around the lake whenever I got bored. I watched way too many bad movies because DVD's here cost less than a dollar. There was a general overcast over nearly every day, rarely having bright blue skys.
There is a certain aura that permeates every aspect of life in China. It is a combination of communism, pollution, and noise. When I had conversations with Chinese teachers about things back in the states, they seemed awe struck. Very rarely were many informed on the happenings of the rest of the world. Having things like Youtube and Facebook blocked only further hinders freethinking. When I grew out a beard, one of the Chinese teachers told me I looked like Stalin. I was taken back at first, not sure if that was a compliment. She informed me that it was, for Stalin is a great man. It's funny, my opinion of him was a little different
To summarize, this was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and certainly something that I will remember forever. I will absolutely make it back to Hangzhou at some point in the future, and I'm pretty sure that it will be drastically different. Thinking back to college as heaven, then the real world must be hell, I'll take China as purgatory for the time in between one hundred times over. I'm really not looking forward to the real world
Jon Barron
Atleast I'll have this to look forward to, gonna ease the transition I think
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KSv8SxKeBM
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