Time in the USA by Lei

I loved being back in the U.S. I love seeing our families, friends, and being back in our old stomping grounds. It was such a joy to see people who love us and genuinely care to hear about our experiences in China.

Here is my two parts semi-related blog

PART 1:
When we were back, people always asked us What did you miss about the US? What do you love about China? Well here is goes (not in any particular order)

What did I miss about the U.S. (besides friends and family)
- Being able read and communicate with people without worrying about looking foolish bc lack of vocabulary
- Blue sky and joggling in the fresh air (Storrow Dr)
- Driving a car
- Being in the same time zone as our friends so we can call them without making an appointment
- Shopping w/o bargaining the price or worrying about the return policy
- Food – Who said American food was boring??
o Medium rare steak (Thanks Diana’s Dad)
o Mexican burrito from Anna’s ( Thanks Jessica )
o Great Italian food (il Panino’s in Cambridge)
o Greek food from Queens NY ( Thanks Jeff )
o Indian food (Even the ones found in upstate NY – Indian population <100)
o Bagels with cream cheese

What I love about the China
- The people (okay, most of the people). Hospitability and genuine friendships
- Meeting new people and discovering new things (new friends, new neighborhoods, new foods, new cities, etc.)
- Awesome and inexpensive Chinese food everywhere
o Xinjiang Lamb
o Chinese icy desserts with redbean, mochi, etc
o Hot pot
- Our home
- Seeing a culture and a country transform before your eyes

PART 2:
As I experience more of China and also get to see America from a different angle, I realize just how similar the people are. Yeah, yall probably thinking “Lei, are you crazy? Americans are Chinese are so different”

Many months back I wrote an entry on why people bum rush. (see November 30, 2008)

Before coming back to the U.S., one thing I was looking forward to was the order, the manners, the courteous treatment you expect in an orderly society. I was disappointed to experience just the opposite.

On my way back to Shanghai, I had to fly out of tiny airport in upstate NY. This airport here is probably one of the smallest commercial airports you can find. There are total of TWO check-in counters, ONE security line, and most of the time there is only one flight per hour. The arrival and departure monitor is hand written.

While waiting in line to check in. I was relaxed after my 3 weeks in the U.S. There were 5 people ahead of me and no one behind me in line. Well, you can hardly call it a line. If this was Shanghai, you would jump up and down if you ever found a line with less than 5 people.

Everyone in this line was checking in for the same flight and the plane was not going anywhere without its 30 passengers. As the line moved up, I didn’t feel the urge to move my heavy cart of bags up by 5 feet just so I can continue waiting. This left a gap between me and the guy in front of me.

Next thing I know, a lady and her husband walked right in front of me and stood between me and the line. I was speechless… If this was Shanghai I would have made a fuss and yelled at them to shame them to the back of the line (me). This wasn’t Shanghai and I was totally caught off guard. I was so shocked that I didn’t know what to say or do. I just stood there.

I continued to stand there for the next 10 minutes while the line moved. Many things ran through my head

- “Did this couple just not see me?... I am not an easy guy to miss and I had a chart with 5 big bags.”
- “Where did these people think they were going? We are all going on the same flight. What did they accomplish by cutting me off?”
- “Is this a joke?” I half expected one of those Candid Camera TV crews to jump out and say “got ya”
- “Am I back in Shanghai?” I took another look at the couple who cut me off. I was like “no… they are definitely NOT Chinese. They are as white as you can get!!! I know I am not in Shanghai. Do Americans cut people off?
o My apologies to my Caucasian friends for the “white” comment. I don’t mean to judge you by the actions of those who has the same skin color as you hahaha

Well, after this small airport surprise, I think I am ready to head back to China. Ready to battle and yell at the next person who cut me off in line.