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| With Liu Liu on the Sichuan University Medical Campus |
I can't believe I've been home for over two weeks already, which is half the time I was gone. I have had two different versions of this post started, but I couldn't quite articulate what I wanted to say. But it's only going to get more difficult the farther away from the experience I get, so here it is.
Two years ago we had a personality assessment done at work aimed to help you understand yourself and your coworkers better. Ultimately we were all separated into colors, which somehow explained a set of traits you possessed. Unsurprisingly my color, blue, is the one that is described as caring most about relationships and people. That matches with the work that I do, both internally and externally. People are what matter to me, and that is the filter with which I see my world.
So when looking back at my month in China it isn't the sights that I saw, the food that I ate or the work that I did that resonates with me. When I'm asked if I had a good time, or if I want to go back, I'm always thinking of the people who made such an impact on me. I genuinely felt that some of them were my friends, and others had definite friend potential. However, they live half a world away, in an environment where we can't even be Facebook friends. That to me is bittersweet.
I've talked a lot about the things I did, saw, ate and purchased while I was in China. So I thought it is important to share something about the people who made such an impact on me.
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| With Wu Tingzhao on the Sichuan University Medical Campus |
Wu Tingzhao is the librarian who visited ASU last fall, and whose presentation about the Sichuan University Libraries first inspired me to consider applying for this exchange program. Mr Wu and I share similar enthusiasm about customer service, and he was very interested in learning about our Library Minute video series. I was most touched by his thoughtfulness in taking me to lunch at a restaurant near his campus that specializes in steak, as he was sure I was missing western food at that time (I was - what a relief to use a fork!).
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| Hu Lin standing in front of his childhood home in Luodai Ancient Town |
Hu Lin also visited ASU, in 2010. Lin took me to his hometown, Luodai Ancient Town, which made a big impact on me. His family lived in this house until 2000, and it is now a shop that sells souvenirs Literally just steps off the tourist laden path was another of his family's homes, as well as his middle school and high school. It was interesting to walk around this tourist attraction and consider how not that long ago this was just a small town. I was grateful that he took the time to show it to me.
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| Zhang Chen and Karen at East Music Park |
Zhang Chen and her friend Karen took me to the East Music Park in Chengdu, which was created from an abandoned factory. While I enjoyed walking around and seeing how the factory was transformed to a vibrant community center, what was much more enjoyable was vistiing with these two women who have been friends since college. We sat and drank tea for a long time and compared stories about life in our respective countries. Oh and we were fascinated by this company where people can make their own movies, with costumes, makeup and sets provided.
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| Merry on the grounds of the Jinshu Archaelogical Site |
"Merry" and her husband "Stone" graciously invited me into their home when I told her I was interested in seeing how regular people lived in China. We sat on the balcony of their 5th floor apartment (everyone lives in high rises - it's just a matter of what floor you are on), drank tea and talked for hours. Stone is a computer scientist, and one of my favorite stories they shared was how Merry, a librarian, translated one of his scholarly journal articles into English. I saw a copy of it and was amazed at her ability to understand the science/math of the article enough to translate it into English! Merry and Stone also introduced me to Sichuan specialty foods: snacks. This type of food reminds me of tapas: they order many small plates of things like dumplings, noodles, fish and soup and share among a group. I found that I like all types of dumplings, and most kinds of noodles. (I love carbs from all countries).
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| Sun Shi on the grounds of Du Fu's Thatched Cottage |
Sun Shi and I had a great time on two consecutive Fridays. We did some work, visiting the Chengdu Public Library, but she also indulged my curiosity about the retail experience in China. We went to a mall just outside of town (on Ring Road 3), and then to IKEA. Shi loves IKEA as much as I do, but cautioned me not to visit on a weekend, as they are really crowded. She also told me that people love to go to IKEA and literally sleep on the sample beds (sadly I have no photo of that). Plus we had a few laughs guessing if foreigners we saw were American or European (I think we were 100% accurate on it). But Shi will be forever remembered as my sidekick in the miraculous iPhone recovery incident.
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| Josiah and Amelia with Josiah's schematic on a flying classroom. He was sad to find out aerodynamics wouldn't allow it to happen |
Becky, William, Josiah, Amelia, Hannah and Bethany (William's sister), are the family I met in McDonalds. I ended up spending a bit of time with them, and enjoyed every bit of it. They were so kind and generous with their time, I was truly touched by them. Making actual friends outside the libraries made me feel much more connected with the place I was visiting, and also gave my time a little more meaning. Through them I got to see how an American family is adapting to their life in a foreign country (they've been in China for 9 years). Also important: they own a bagel and smoothie shop called Aloha just down the street from the West gate of the university, and at the end I got my breakfast from there a lot. I also enjoyed exercising my "Aunt Jennie" kid skills. I love talking with kids of all ages, and find it easy to engage with them about things that are important to them. Josiah, in particular, had a very fun and unusual interest in airplanes. He not only has plans for developing new aircraft, but he also has plans to start and run his own airline (I've been promised permanent VIP status with access to my own private plane).
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| Liu Liu, her husband and Jake |
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| Liu Liu and Jake at the movies |
Really, any post I make about the people I met in China must begin and end with Liu Liu. Liu Liu is truly one of the most wonderful people I've met in my life. Yes, she was a lifeline to me when I was nervous and worried, and I knew she could empathize with me because she too was an exchange librarian before (she spent 4 months in Pittsburgh in 2008). But over the course of the month I was there, she generously invited me into her home and to spend time with her husband and son ("Jake" and I got to be good friends). We had fun conversations about entertainment as we shared similar interests in tv and movies (she even convinced me to watch "Cougartown" and loaned me her DVDs when I was there). We also talked extensively about library spaces and services. I did feel sorry for her, however, as she had to translate for me in almost all of my meetings. My jokes are kind of lame the first time you hear them - imagine having to translate them 10 times!
I will never forget the day I spent with Liu Liu and her family on the day of the earthquake. While I did text her almost immediately afterwards, I left the area in search of Starbucks to calm my nerves. I was surprised and touched to find out she and her family came to campus looking for me, as they were worried that I might be scared. They collected me, got us all breakfast at our favorite cafe and we walked to the bamboo park for the morning. Later that day we drove out to the Jiang'an campus and hung out by the lake, skipping rocks and walking around. Jake even tried teaching me a few Chinese words (I'm a terrible learner). I felt honored that they included me that day, when I knew they too were unsettled by the earthquake and nervous about potential aftershocks. When I told Liu Liu goodbye at the airport a few days later, I almost cried as I felt like I was saying goodbye forever to a true friend.
So now I'm left back in my life, wishing that I could just text or call my friends and see how they are doing, and invite them to lunch or dinner or a movie. But they live on the other side of the world and I need to be grateful for the time I did have them in my life. I can hope, as well, for the opportunity to see them again in the future.
