Deep! And having just returned from a 2 week stint in England from home in the US - where I found myself tearing up at the voices (content and accent) and like you, realised the importance of life references, humour and being a part of a tribe.... I agree with all you say. Of course, you dial all that to 11 with a life in China but bravo for working it out and I hope you get home soon, and can thrive after these years of hard (but brilliant) work.
Your revelation in Wales really resonated with me and echoed in my experience living in Spain. Not so far away, as China. But learning a language and how to operate in another place is a humbling experience. It strips you bare of all your social attributes and leaves you with the awkwardness of an adolescent.
You’ll never be quite the same again, but then you’ll never want to.
Thanks Marie... I now wish I had written your line "It strips you bare of all your social attributes and leaves you with the awkwardness of an adolescent. You’ll never be quite the same again, but then you’ll never want to"... I might have to steal that ;)
Stunning stuff.
Deep! And having just returned from a 2 week stint in England from home in the US - where I found myself tearing up at the voices (content and accent) and like you, realised the importance of life references, humour and being a part of a tribe.... I agree with all you say. Of course, you dial all that to 11 with a life in China but bravo for working it out and I hope you get home soon, and can thrive after these years of hard (but brilliant) work.
Your revelation in Wales really resonated with me and echoed in my experience living in Spain. Not so far away, as China. But learning a language and how to operate in another place is a humbling experience. It strips you bare of all your social attributes and leaves you with the awkwardness of an adolescent.
You’ll never be quite the same again, but then you’ll never want to.
Buen camino old friend
Thanks Marie... I now wish I had written your line "It strips you bare of all your social attributes and leaves you with the awkwardness of an adolescent. You’ll never be quite the same again, but then you’ll never want to"... I might have to steal that ;)