Wonder and Repeat: Memories of China Pt 2

There are so many things that I remember about China and most people would be surprised to know that I think of it very often, even though it was such a long time ago. It was 16 years ago, the summer the Olympics were held in Atlanta, GA. I remember my first experience with propaganda because I would chat with my parents on the phone and they would tell me the US was winning the Olympic medal count and then in China, I would hear that China was ahead.

I remember being so hot that summer, with barely any respite from the heat outside when we were traveling. The apartment I stayed in with friends had A/C (I think, memory gets foggy here) but most other places - restaurants, shops, tourist spots - did not.

I remember seeing women wear panty-hose instead of pants - picture a shirt tucked into hose! We called it the land of the misfit shoes, because they were all terribly ugly. It never crossed my mind to go shopping while in China that time. I was young and pretty much unfashionable in every way, but it was not Paris, let me tell you! I don't think I will ever be able to scrub from my mind the thought of the old men swimming in the ocean in their tighty-whities - they get quite droopy when soaking wet, if you know what I mean!

I still have a recurring dream about China once a month or so. In this dream I am trying to get to the airport because my flight to China is leaving and somehow my parents didn't know what time the flight was, or I woke up late, and I have to pack and get to the airport in something like 15 minutes and I am throwing clothes, trying to get everyone in the car, running in the airport. Sometimes the dream goes on to me getting to China and trying to find my friends (that I stayed with in '96) and I forgot to tell them I'm coming and I can't remember their phone number, or I can picture the phone number on the desk at home that I forgot because I was rushing. This dream is why I always feel like I'm trying to get back there. It has a strange hold over me and I wonder if this short trip last week will do anything to interrupt its force in my memory. I think I would miss this dream were it to disappear.

My favorite memories though are vanishing over time because they have to do with me learning to speak Mandarin and as I forget how to speak it, the memories of speaking it obviously go with it. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I remembered when I was there - it wasn't anything significant - just things like "is it cold?" when referring to buying a soda, "I'm full", "How much?" etc. It felt nice to show off in front of hubby since he's probably mentally rolled his eyes at how much I still talk of this foreign, long-ago land.

Our time in China last week was really special to me - to fill that hankering that clearly only China can fill, to share this beloved culture with my hubby and to see what has changed and what hasn't. I just pray it won't be another 16 before I get back again!