Dear China

Dear China, I miss you. I miss you more than I would have thought.

Thank you for flipping my narrative on its head. Thank you for the craziness and the chaos that you seamlessly fold into the beauty of your country. Thank you for the challenge. I never would have known that the One Child Policy was not particularly enforced. I would never have known how open and honest and straight-talking your people are. I would never have known that you are such a rich and green and bustling place.

I find myself missing you, but I don’t exactly know why. Our time together was not good. We struggled, you and I.

I miss your contradictions in the face of those in Korea. I miss your open and entrepreneurial spirit. I believe, honestly, that you alone embody the American Dream these days. Maybe the fact that nobody ever knows what the fuck is going on makes you flexible. You are an ancient civilisation with a modern life. This amateur historian loves you for that alone.

Please let me back in one day. I promise to live in the countryside. I promise to ignore the sewage problems. I promise to learn the language. I love Mandarin.

Dear China, I know that Shanghai and I did not get along. I know that you and Shanghai are basically different. China is China. Shanghai is Shanghai.

I miss you, China.

Would you maybe allow me to live in Xi’An, someday?

Talk to you soon,

C