Just When I’m Heading Out China Pulls Me Back In…

Just When I’m Heading Out China Pulls Me Back In…
darkstar1 Apr 11, 2013 16:39

 

China can very easily get you down. Read the news, cross the road, open your window, look outside, teach a bunch a spoilt brats, and we can all feel the pressure at times and the screaming in our conscious which says “what the hell are you still doing here!” And up until recently, my daily frustrations in Beijing made me wonder what the hell I was still doing here.

 

I’m sure we’ve all that urge to pick up sticks on an impulse and leave everything behind after one or two “Bad China Days,” or simply want to escape it all after the pollution has melted into your psyche so much that you can’t handle it anymore.

 

We all remember January’s “Airpocalypse,” where many parts of northern China (not just Beijing) were more volatile than Vesuvius’ a**hole, leading many expats to consider leaving the city for good over health concerns. Many are still in fact planning to do just that, and it seems like there’s going to be a major exodus of expats leaving Beijing and China in general this summer.

 

However just when all of these frustrations pile up, Beijing (or China), does something which makes me fall in love with it back again. I can’t explain how, or sometimes even what, but it just does. Whether it be a random act of kindness on the subway (which is mega rare), a fun meal out with Chinese friends, or a general smooth commute to work where no one shoves their elbow in my face, something always happens.

 

This week, it’s been the weather which has got me up again. Although it hasn’t quite warmed up to t-shirt weather yet, the past week here have seen crystal clear blue skies, a crisp wind, and bright sunshine. Suddenly, an unattractive city such as Beijing looks wonderful, and everything is ok with the world. It must have been the almost 6-month long winter that got me down; temperatures were in the -10s, smog was at an all time high, and I never even left my house. Now that spring has truly sprung and the skies are clear, there’s a strange air of optimism about life here all of a sudden, and it seems like I could go on living here for a while yet.

 

This is just one of the things that China does to keep me here, and I’m sure some of you feel the same way about the fluctuant love-hate relationship many of us have with life here. Life in China seems to be a constant flux of ups and downs, and I guess at the end of the day that’s what life is in general, and what can I say-China certainly takes this concept to the utmost extremes.

 

 

Tags:Lifestyle Expat Rants & Advice Health & Environment

1 Comments

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silverbutton1

Having lived in a number of countries, China doesnt impress me much.

Apr 21, 2013 08:41 Report Abuse