The End of the End

18 December 2009

I am packed. Packed and ready to go. My room somehow still kind of looks like someone lives here, but, as of 6:30 am tomorrow, no one does. I suppose they’ll move someone in fairly soon.
For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been watching a lot of television shows online here. It helped aid some fun nights of four-hour sleeps and days of droopy eyelids. These shows have also made me something of a connoisseur of endings between all the season and series finales. Trends begin to emerge. The majority of shows opt for one of two outs: the “recap and reflections” or the “complete resolution”. So the question is, do I retell you all about the sum of my adventures, or take my last three and a half hours in China and resolve every conflict I’ve been involved in?

Let’s roll with the recap and put a little spit and curve into it, eh?

The overall sum of my adventures is of some relation to its parts. All told, I’m pretty doggone tired and ready to be in America. However, China has nestled into some tiny corner of my heart. I am coming back. I mean, come on, I still have things to see. I’ll tell you one thing: this country is huge with far too much to see. I’ve been here for three and a half months (or 110 days; or 15 5/7 weeks) and seen my fair piece. I biked through the homeworld of Chewbacca; rode down a frigid river with Solla Sollew overhead; built a snowman cannon operator on the ancient city wall of Xi’An (oh yeah, I went to Xi’An for three days this past week; it was unbelievable); eaten all manner of strange food; seen the terra cotta soldiers; witnessed a mass Taoist worship activity; played Go with the Chinese; made friends with the local restaurant owners; been hassled and praised for my hirsuteness; treated like a punching bag and a sardine on the Metro; harassed by American Chinese thugs on the lam; visited a synagogue in the Jewish district; and gam bei’d with ancient Chinese men. And yet, after all of those strange, normal, dubiously verifiable, and all around experienceable instances I still haven’t even seen the Western part of the country, the far north, the Tibetan region, and others too many and interesting to mention. China is a glorious country. They say that, too, but I think I might mean something else. I’ll fill in more on that once I actually arrive Stateside, since anything I submit in any format here can and probably will be reviewed.

In short, what I’m trying to tell all of you yet-to-visit-China-ers is that I have loved my time here. It’s been difficult, especially mentally. Being in a foreign country that doesn’t even use your own character set is a mite taxing. I’d certainly recommend it, though. To anyone. I mean, my mom came. This is the woman who, when my father put in for a position here with his company, said, “Well, I guess I’ll see you at Christmas.” That’s (mostly) all folks. Glad I could enlighten you and thanks for reading.

Stay Classy, Meiguo.
-Topher Smith, The Once and Future World Traveller