From January 28-March 9, I spent my entire 14 days of out-of-country leave time as determined by Fulbright in the good ole USA. I spent my first week in New York city, the greatest city in the whole wide world. After Beijing though, New York seemed like the countryside to me. Seriously, where are all the people? Why can I easily get on the subway during rush hour? Why aren't there people stopping in the middle of the sidewalks and milling about everywhere creating pedestrian traffic jams? It was very strange. But I still love New York and am totally planning to move there when I return to the US, unless I get some kick-ass job offer/grad school acceptance in DC (Other US cities, sorry you're basically out of the running).
During my New York week, I visited with several of my best Vassar friends, my best friend from high school who came all the way from Boston to see me, and even a few friends from a summer program I did in high school called Governor's Honors Program (GHP). (It's basically nerd camp) I enjoyed the culinary delights of restaurant week, including brunch at Norma's (a gourmet brunch place, try the pancakes) and dinner at Hospoda (beware, the beer is mostly foam. and they intentionally pour it that way, weird...). I visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) with my family to see The Scream by Edvard Munch. Turns out, if you buy a student membership for like $50USD, you get tons of deals and you can bring in guests for only $5! Love the MoMa. Another highlight of the week was visiting The Mount Vernon Inn & Hotel, a historic preserved hotel from the 1830s. It's run by the Colonial Dames of America, which means the tour was lead by a sweet old lady who clearly thought the origins of every brick in the entire building was of interest to us. My mom and I loved it, but everyone else was pretty bored about half way through. If you're into history though, this is a MUST SEE site! The tour is about an hour, and it's cheap (less than $10 I think). To appease my dad, we walked many miles all over Manhattan, despite the cold temperatures (although it seemed practically tropical compared to Beijing!). I of course also did some great shopping with my mom, and bought lots of spring clothes that I can't wear for months. Typical. Lastly, we hosted a superbowl party at my parent's apartment with SO MUCH FOOD. My mom and I have a problem of seriously over-ordering and over-cooking because we have a huge fear of not having enough food. And I think this party was the worst we've ever done. It was actually embarrassing how much food we had. Luckily my friends took home most of the food so there wasn't any waste! Given that almost every single guest had almost no interest in football, it was pretty strange that we had a superbowl party, but I guess that just goes to show the importance of football in American culture. Beyonce's halftime show was amazing. Good commercials too.
Then I spent my second week in Atlanta, my hometown. I got to spend lots of good quality time with my sister, her husband, and a few of my high school friends that were in town. Most of the week though was unfortunately spent going to doctors appointments. Overall it was a wonderful two weeks at home! Almost too good- re-adjusting to China has been difficult unfortunately. Not that I don't love China, because I do. But now that I officially know I CANNOT go back home until early November (although I'll probably stay and travel...I know, poor me) and I have 8.5 more months here, it was a bit overwhelming. Living overseas, despite my best efforts to keep in touch with everyone at home and follow the news & pop culture, I definitely feel disconnected from my home. I didn't even know about the Beyonce lip-singing scandal from the inauguration! But seriously, it can be hard. Luckily I have great friends here in China too that help make up for everything I'm missing!
America, I miss you already! But I know you'll be there when I get back. :) Thanks everyone for a wonderful two weeks at home!
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