Now that I’m back in the states, spending time in a familiar environment, and falling back into the daily routine, I’ve been alloted some time to reflect upon the new friends that I made during the field program.

Upon arriving in Beijing I felt indescribably sad, with a strong sense of foreboding that didn’t seem to have a defined root or cause. All I knew was that I felt terrible and couldn’t wait to go home. The next morning I met some of the people in the group. At first I thought I may have gotten off on the wrong foot with Jeanette because I basically stole her room, but she turned out to be one of the most friendly and enthusiastic people on the trip. It blew my mind that the person renting out her room for the summer was my old roommate. Small world I guess. Jeanette will always be the bug magnet to me. I’m always going to remember her swollen legs and the constant smell of repellent that followed her wherever she went.

I was unsure what to think about Megan at first. Being older than me, I kind of expected her to be in some weird mother goose role. This wasn’t the case at all. Her cynicism and sense of humor matched up perfectly with mine, and helped me keep my sanity through some of the weirder portions of our stay. Her taste in TV was also so good. I’ve started to watch Dr. Who on her recommendation and it’s great!

Next I met Jo and Yu-Ting. Their combo was hilarious to me. They had all these weird notions of the type of person that I was right off the bat that while sometimes brutally honest, gave me something to think in terms of how I’m perceived by others, and more importantly how I am perceived by people in differing cultures. For instance, just based on the way that I spoke and moved around, Jo thought that I might be gay. I realize that I am more articulate than most guys when I explain things or interact with people, but I never really thought about it being classified as a “gay” way of acting. It also made me wonder what kind of people Jo has had the pleasure of meeting in Eugene. A lot of “bros” perhaps? Yu-Ting was great as well. Extremely blunt in her opinions and observations (not sure if this was because of the language barrier or her natural character, I think a bit of both). The thing I enjoyed most about Yu-Ting’s company was seeing her and her boyfriend with each other. Probably two of the happiest people I’ve ever seen together. He was so nice too! Always holding her bags and doing little things for her. Something I don’t really see back here in the states. Both Jo and Yu-Ting loved showing me around, and seemed to be delighted that I loved shopping so much. Also Jo’s strong interest in seeing me wear skinny-jeans was puzzling, but funny to me.

Naan (I dunno if I’m spelling this right but whenever I’d hear her name an image of Naan bread would flash through my mind) was so amazing! She balanced the social aspects of being in the group as a student perfectly with her duties as a guide and translator. I never felt like she was an authority figure or afraid of disapproval or judgment from her. She always had answers to my many questions and really made me feel welcome in Beijing. Plus she went above and beyond during those long translating sessions at Beijing Normal and elsewhere.

Rosalyn was another great person to have around. She along with Megan provided the cynicism and black humor that kept me grounded throughout the trip. Rosalyn noticed things that other people didn’t notice, commented on them, and was never afraid to voice her opinion. She was a great leader for our group and extremely engaged throughout our meetings and work sessions. I fully realize that she could have spent the majority of her time with her husband, but she made an effort to be part of the group, and I’m very thankful that she did because she was an awesome person to have around. I feel so bad about the revolving restaurant thing though!

As for John and Doug, I don’t think I could have asked for two better instructors. They were a lot more like friends than supervisors, which is really what I was hoping for. Doug was possibly the kindest person I’ve ever met. He always asked me if I was feeling good and if there was anything he should be worried about. The one thing that really stuck out in my mind was his concern for my feelings about sending pictures of our trip to my mom. It wasn’t even on my radar in terms of things that I’d be worried about, but he was actively thinking about it. I really appreciated this thoughtfulness, even if it was unneeded, and will never forget it. John was  a fantastic instructor as well. Possessing a strong interest in almost everything, his willingness to try new things and genuine attitude towards our individual likes and tastes was awesome. I always go overboard and nerd out about movies, and he knew about pretty much every on that I mentioned on the trip. John was like the go-to guy for technology, always up on the latest gadgets and electronics. Extremely helpful and eager to please whenever I was having trouble with the compiling of footage or data. It was great meeting his wife and kids (briefly) at the airport and see the family that he clearly loves so much.

So in short, this group of people, all ridiculously different, turned out to be some of the most pleasant individuals to spend what I consider the closest thing to a life changing experience with, and they’re part of what made it a life changing experience! I could go on talking about all of the great cultural things that I learned about China and the famous sites I visited, but one of the things that I valued most about the program are the people that I met and the relationships that I built with them during our stay.