I have  been thinking lately about what I have learned during my time here. The largest lessons have been about differences.

All my life I have fit in quite well. I am an english speaking white person from Southern Alberta, my parents and grandparents grew up here. I blend in, and I like it!

In China I am a blue eyed alien with blond hair and white skin, blending in isn't even an option. I feel the stares from everyone, some are friendly and some are not. I have had quite a few instances where people take pictures of me and my friend or even ask to take pictures with us. I usually go along with it if they ask, or wave at them and smile if they don't. A lot of the staring and picture taking is out of genuine  curiosity I believe, and so I try not to worry about it too much. It is what it is. But I now have great empathy for those who go through the same thing on a daily basis at home.

The second thing I have really been surprised by is the psychological need for things like import grocery stores, Canadian restaurants with an atmosphere that feels like home, and a group of friends that are 'like' me. And yes, I mean people that look like me, and share similar experiences and interests with me. I never fully understood why it was so important for different ethnic groups to have import stores and things like China Town, and local food restaurants. I was completely ignorant to their cultural needs!

So often I hear people say that foreigners are in 'our' country and should speak english and follow 'our' cultural values and ways. Well I can't speak for anyone else, but it will never matter where I live, I will always be proudly Canadian and further more Southern Albertan. I grew up riding horses, eating beef, getting together with community, speaking english, and that is a HUGE part of my identity. That part of who I am cannot be taken away. It can't be taken away by the country that I live in or the people that surround me, it is inside of me.

I believe that my friends and family would feel the same, they don't want me to change the core of who I am based on where I live. They still want me to be me. So I think it isn't fair to ask that of anyone else, instead let's learn from each other and about one another's culture, and invite everybody that is willing to participate in to be a part of ours.

I have decided not to come back to China next year. For a number of reasons I have decided that the time that I have had here has fulfilled my desires for this experience and I think that I can learn and grow more, and hopefully find a fulfilling job, closer to home.

Given that my time here is now shortened by half, I have begun to feel a sense of urgency to experience as much as I can while I am here. Already I feel like I am forgetting things that I have done. I can no longer vividly picture and remember all of the amazing moments that I have had travelling so far. I keep thinking to myself that I need to somehow enjoy it more, or soak it up better than I have so that I can savour this experience maximally. But I don't know how to. I feel like I am doing all I can to enjoy those moments, to reflect on the greatness of the experience, yet still it feels like it’s not enough. How can I relive that feeling, I need to get it back, to keep it with me?

And then I started thinking... is this what addiction feels like? Is this how addiction begins? You experience something that feels so great and then in time, slowly the feeling and the memory start to fade away or change, and how else can you get it back other than doing it over again? Is that why people stay in bad relationships? Because they felt absolute love once and how do you get that feeling back besides repeating it? Is it the same for other addictions?

If this is true, then I am becoming addicted to travel. Addicted to that feeling of disbelief that you are in a place you never imagined, experiencing the most amazing sights. Addicted to learning new things and meeting people in different places.

So although I am not coming back to China next September this is definitely not the last time I travel and explore new places.

I hope that it is only the beginning.

Before Chinese New year break Chelsey and I took a day trip to the near by city of Foshan. It is a smaller city of about 6 million!! I found out about it in my lonely planet China guide book and we decided to get away for a Saturday and explore a little. It was and hour metro ride to get there. Once we got there we followed the directions of our book and walked to a couple different temples. The first one was great, we got to see a lion dance and some martial arts demonstrations in addition to an opera performance and other cool sights. We had planned to go to a ceramics museum but didn't pay enough attention to the hours and got there just as it was closing, so that will be an activity for another time. Here are some of the pictures of the first temple, Zu Miao.