08.02.16:

Other countries fascinate me. Whenever, I look far above from the airplane and see a bird’s eyes view of a new country or old… I am filled with wonder about the life the people live. Their quality of life, if they’re like me, and do they think like me or have dreams like I do?

08.23.16:

Honestly speaking I wasn’t the most thrilled about travelling back to China after seven years of not going back. The only reason i was going back was because of my family: my grandparents, my cousin, aunts, and uncles. I didn’t know how much I missed them until I left them. As I struggled to keep my tears from trickling down my cheeks, a part of me believed that yes I would see them and maybe sooner than I thought. But the truth is, I rarely go back. And as time passes on and health starts to deteriorate, I’m not sure when my see you again will become a goodbye.

During my three weeks in China, I began to appreciate a country more.. in regards to the way its run and how the people live their daily lives. Okay, I’ll admit when I arrived in my hometown I had a strong nationalism and pride for Canada. After taking History 12, I was a bit more pre-dispositioned to think democracy was the answer. Coming into China, I had my nose up in the air. I was conditioned a bit to think of communism as bad and with corruption spoiling many aspects of politics, education, medicine, security, etc didn’t make it any better. The bias coupled with news I had heard about China made me complain secretly about almost everything for the first week. Ugh the air quality is so terrible, the streets are so dirty, there are too many people, and why is everyone so rude? I feel disappointed in my ways of thinking specifically in the beginning. I realized life in China is actually pretty great and how there is a certain beauty in the way a country works. What right do I have to say how a country should be run? Or allow my ideological or political beliefs barricade my ability to enjoy what a country can offer? Every country has its own beauty, and its my privilege to experience it for what is is—