After two years away from the "Motherland", every moment has had its thrills since we've been back. I wish we had a camera to capture the 50 ft distance that my mom and I ran to meet each other at the baggage claim. It was definitely a youtube worthy moment. We saw each other from a distance, screamed and then ran. Precious...simply precious. I was already chewing on my first Auntie Anne's pretzel when I saw her, but heck, that thing was flung to the ground when we collided and continued the excited screaming/hugging/jumping combination. As we met up with the rest of the crew (well most of them), the excitement continued! For the next 45 minutes driving back home, we talked "Chase family style" the whole way back. Basically...all fighting to get a word in edgewise, louder and faster than the last person. I am surprised we didn't fog the windows up with all that chatter!
After arriving into America, there are some things that I noticed almost instantly upon landing. As our first stop into America was at the LAX airport, I couldn't help but notice how many blondes there were walking around! What a sight to see! Almost instantly, I felt like I needed to put some life back into my hair, check my make up and fix my rumpled clothes. In China, every foreigner is basically gawked at just for the sake of being different. I must say, it was kind of nice taking a break from a culture where self-image is top priority. While now I feel like the struggle for vanity has set in again, it will be refreshing to just.....blend in.
Another thing...I feel like I am on audio overload! Now that I can actually understand everything that is being said around me, for the sake of comprehension I feel obligated to try and listen to all of it! I kind of miss my ability to zone out all the passing conversations. All I know is something needs to be done. I can't live my whole summer just eavesdropping. On the flip side, I have to remember that people can understand me too! I have already caught my tongue a few times as I have made small comments about clothing choices or complained about some situation.
There is so much more to be said, but I will end here for now. Looking forward to updating you with our next post!
