We’re Not in the Middle Kingdom Anymore, Toto…
I have a feeling I may need to change the name of this blog, or at the very least acknowledge that its impracticality is about to soar to new heights of uselessness.
I have, you see, buggered off. I’m actually in rainy, green rolling hilled rural Leicestershire right now, with my life in Shanghai very nearly twenty days in the past. I’ve eaten a ridiculous amount of cheese since I left, because I can, and have taken to breathing in deeply and enthusiastically because the air no longer makes my chest ache or my lungs tickle awkwardly.
No more close and heavy and brutally hot days being deafened by cicadas rattling in the plane trees above. No more uneven sidewalks threatening to swallow me whole as I carted my boxes of carefully pared down possessions to the post office on Guilin Lu. Five boxes shipped home; one sprained ankle from a loose paving tile outside the Hualian supermarket. Days of people passing through the flat picking up things to be sold or given away or tossed out for the local recyclers.
As I stood outside our compound waiting for a taxi to go to the airport hotel we had booked for our last night before flying, surrounded by exactly 4 suitcases and 2 carry on bags, the wife of the recycling couple came striding up to me with a massive grin on her face and my lovely discarded embroidered ballet flats on her feet (regrettably water stained from the torrential downpours of the previous weeks). Apparently my hideously large size 41 laowai shoes fit her perfectly and my big bag of left behind clothes and shoes would not be going to waste. A welcomed change after the trauma of having left way too much behind when leaving Turkey back in 2008.
Twenty days removed from the city and I still haven’t fully processed the move. I have brief flashes of memory and longing for certain corners and tastes and angles and specific places at specific times- Lanzhou lamian in steamy crowded noodle joints, the old lanes on Jiashan Lu with their outdoor sinks, flopping street fish and terrified birds in cages, exiting the Caobao lu metro station at Exit 1, the trees on Hengshan lu at night, xiaolongbao at the tiny place on Guilin Lu that closed down completely (gutted, including light fixtures) the day before we left, cold and spicy and slippery liangpi from various stalls around the city, mops hanging from laundry poles outside third floor windows or tucked into brick laneways. The memories don’t make me ache though, which is a sign that hopefully I was able to methodically and carefully disengage myself from the city and my life there in a way that won’t prove to be traumatic over time.
The last month in the city was intense and hurried and full. A lot happened. A lot I haven’t written about yet, but which will change everything I do next. More about those things later. It’s been an odd year, to be sure, one I hadn’t even remotely anticipated back in December. The year of the snake is a sly, tricky one.
At any rate, I’m back now. My writing voice was gone for quite a while. Too much to process as it was happening. My words still feel awkward and stilted and slightly unnatural. Hopefully that will pass. I’ll be royally pissed off with myself if they don’t.
Can I tell you about Leicestershire? Does anyone need an impractical guide? I can try for a London one in a few weeks as well. And Vancouver Island. And Mexico. It’s going to be a busy year ahead. I think I need a cup of tea.
Oh hell yes, do tell! I spent many of my best years in that county. I hope there will be photos, too. And if you go near the uni, puhleease snap a few!
Oh, and, just to prove I’m not only thinking of myself…
I loved the part about the ballet flats and the smiling recycling lady. I always wonder what happens to stuff left behind.
Marie recently posted..I love…
We drove near at least one of the campuses today (or at least by the turnoff). Which one were you at? Any other requests? We have the car for 8 more days (2 will be in Birmingham but the rest around the L’shire region)
I was in the city next to the park where we spent a lot of our time “studying”. Anything you take photos of will be nostalgic for me, though, and I’m sending on the links to my old uni mates. By the way, why are you in that area? I’m guessing you know someone there since it’s not usually of interest to travellers after you’ve seen all the historic houses, castles, standing stones, etc. that other places have. I’ve never met anyone who’s travelled there before.
Marie recently posted..A Winter’s Day Out on Waiheke Island
Did you see the instagram pics I co-posted to FB yesterday of our meander around Bradgate park? We’re heading back into Leicester proper today to eat Indian sweets and gawp at the boy’s childhood haunts (he’s why we are here- we came for his mum’s 80th birthday and are lingering a few extra days to have a poke around).
Saw them. Loved them.
When you hit the Indian sweet centres, eat a stuffed, battered chilli for me!
Marie recently posted..A Winter’s Day Out on Waiheke Island
Zaijian Mary Anne,
I will eat two liang of jiaozi at the corner between Changle Lu and Donghu Lu in your honor ; )
Fabulous! I’m drooling at the thought! Dip them in dark vinegar and proper lajiao for me!
Hey! There’s plain air, cheese and things around you. And… there is a ‘we’ again, and that’s maybe the important part. 😉
There is a WE again, yes! Very astute of you! And it is mighty important and is kind of rearranging the next part of life in a good and interesting way. More to come. Lots of new options opening up…
Photos and guides, please! Those of us left languishing in the Middle Kingdom need to breathe and eat vicariously through you.
Side note: I threw out some old silk flowers and other sundries today and the lady already riffling through the bin on my floor seemed overjoyed with my castoffs 🙂
Heather recently posted..A Multicultural Lunch at the Langham Xintiandi
I’m always grateful for the recyclers of Shanghai! When I was moving (hurriedly) out of my old flat back in Feb/March, I had to get rid of a lot of stuff because I couldn’t carry it all on my own. Anything I put out onto the staircase landing (16th floor!) was almost immediately taken away, including Gerald the Bear.
I shall try to post guides, as best as I can (they WILL be impractical- the countryside walk we did today found us a bit lost after veering away from the regular trails…)
Interested and excited for what the coming months hold for you. In the meantime, I’d happily read all about clean, green England. (From hazy-skied Penang.)
I’d be happy to supply some clear, sweet air and blue skies and puffy clouds and endless vistas of really lovely rolling hills. Hard to believe i was knee deep in Shanghai monsoons and choking humidity and smog just a few weeks ago.
Looking forward to what’s happening in your life in the next few weeks and yay to your writing voice making a come back, that’s always a good thing.
Thank you! I’m not sure where my writing voice went to but oh, it sure hasn’t been in the mood to talk for the past several months even though there has been a lot to say. Glad to see it is trying to make a comeback…
Wait… Does this mean…no more mops??
Liezl recently posted..Self-guided walking tour: Shanghai’s Former French Concession Area
Goodness, no, of course not! I have so many unpublished mop photos that still need to be captioned that I could keep doing the mop blog for years to come (providing inspiration hits). Also, I still take submissions!
I’m so happy for you MaryAnne. You sound much better in clean Leicestershire. Breathing is such a gift for all of us who can.
One never really appreciates breathing until one has lived in China long enough… 🙂
Love the name, please dont change it!Maybe you can give the Royals some help with a name too!!
First time I have seen your site, Wonderful! Inspiring! Hope your transition goes well xx
I’m still voting for Wayne Windsor, baby royal! PS Thank you! 😉
Hey.How are you? I´m from México. I liked a lot your article! I lived in Beijing for 3 years and have been living in México now for 9 months. Its so good to be back in your own country. Being able to breath clean air and not having to struggle with a lot of people to get something is priceless! I miss certain things about Beijing, certain places, sounds and feelings, but Im happier here than I was in Beijing. Thank you very much for sharing your stories with us! Take care and I hope you can come to México soon! Have a nice day and an excellent week!
Hello! Thanks for commenting! I totally hear you on the relief of being able to breathe clean air and not have to struggle so much- leaving China made me REALLY appreciate the joys of being closer to home (I’m still visiting the UK so not quite home in Canada yet…). I had a love/hate relationship with Shanghai (with more love toward the end, surprisingly) and I have no regrets about spending 4.5 years living there. I was, however, very ready to go. Hoping to be able to get to Mexico in Autumn!
You’ll still be able to blog! You’d have enough memories to write about for years, no?
Brad recently posted..Rat Meat Shish Kebab or Chicken?
Pretty much, yes… 🙂