Do you ever reach a point and find yourself hitting pause to look at the world around you, wondering how on earth time has flown so quickly and what younger you would think of where you are now? I find myself doing that an extra heap these days as I get into a rhythm with this school year, my fifth school year living in Chengdu and calling China home.
Five years?!?! Goodness gracious how can this be the start of five years in a part of the world that I never intended to do more than visit.
Five years.
That's one sixth of my life.
That's three years longer than I lived in Kenya.
Or 2 years longer than I lived full-time in Ethiopia.
A year longer than I lived in Michigan.
A year longer than I lived in Rwanda.
Only two years less than the time I spent in Washington state between countries as a child.
And by the end of this contract, I will have lived here longer than I have lived anywhere.
And so, as this fifth year starts, I find myself wanting to go back to how I saw the world around me when I first arrived, taking pictures of every strange thing at Walmart, amazed by public transportation, and in awe of waking up every morning in a city that is larger than the State where I grew up.
I'm hoping that this year can be a reset. Resetting any frustration that I find with my surroundings. Resetting my abysmal language abilities and trying to learn again. Resetting expectations on myself or the world around me. Resetting opinions that were foraged in a season of stress.
Sometimes it's just time for a fresh start.
What triggered this line of thinking? Well, last night I went out to dinner with a dear friend and her parents and I found myself in awe. We sat at a table on a crowded sidewalk where restaurants have taken over the walking space. Around me, families and friends were reconnecting after a busy week on a holiday weekend. They were laughing, drinking, eating, sitting back, and just enjoying each other. On our way to meet another friend, we walked past neighborhood squabbles, street cleaners, fruit stands, and so many other pieces of life that are a beautiful part of this place that I have grown to love.
I realized that it's been a long time since I sat back and enjoyed watching life here happen.
And so, let the reset begin.
Five years?!?! Goodness gracious how can this be the start of five years in a part of the world that I never intended to do more than visit.
Five years.
That's one sixth of my life.
That's three years longer than I lived in Kenya.
Or 2 years longer than I lived full-time in Ethiopia.
A year longer than I lived in Michigan.
A year longer than I lived in Rwanda.
Only two years less than the time I spent in Washington state between countries as a child.
And by the end of this contract, I will have lived here longer than I have lived anywhere.
And so, as this fifth year starts, I find myself wanting to go back to how I saw the world around me when I first arrived, taking pictures of every strange thing at Walmart, amazed by public transportation, and in awe of waking up every morning in a city that is larger than the State where I grew up.
I'm hoping that this year can be a reset. Resetting any frustration that I find with my surroundings. Resetting my abysmal language abilities and trying to learn again. Resetting expectations on myself or the world around me. Resetting opinions that were foraged in a season of stress.
Sometimes it's just time for a fresh start.
What triggered this line of thinking? Well, last night I went out to dinner with a dear friend and her parents and I found myself in awe. We sat at a table on a crowded sidewalk where restaurants have taken over the walking space. Around me, families and friends were reconnecting after a busy week on a holiday weekend. They were laughing, drinking, eating, sitting back, and just enjoying each other. On our way to meet another friend, we walked past neighborhood squabbles, street cleaners, fruit stands, and so many other pieces of life that are a beautiful part of this place that I have grown to love.
I realized that it's been a long time since I sat back and enjoyed watching life here happen.
And so, let the reset begin.
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