Adjusting Back

Wednesday, January 16th, 2007

It’s been almost a month since I’ve been back in the US from my study abroad semester in China. Since then I’ve taken more of a notice of my surroundings and I’m constantly comparing everything to the way I had it in China. Now that I’m back at school, things just seem too different and I don’t seem to like it. It’s still early and I know it takes myself awhile to adjust but I miss everything I had back in China. It was definitely the people I met there that made such the difference. I could relate to them in ways I’ve never been able to before. I seemed to have built a bond with people that I’ve never gotten to do with friends I have here. I’m not bashing any of my friends, but rather relating. It seems that I had built a family in China that I could talk to about anything and they’d understand. It could be of background, location, or experience. I’ve met people that have accomplished so much in their lives and seen so many things. I feel the people I know are more grounded to their surroundings and not ready to experience new things or change. I feel people here at Washington and Jefferson College put too much of their time in the greek life and don’t realize there’s so many opportunities out there. It’s not the end of the world. It’s just the beginning.
It’s just hard adjusting, even now, to the days when I’d ride a bike everyday to class. Now I just walk and it seems to take so much longer. We use to eat out everyday at restaurants of our choice or run to the first floor to grab a snack. Here, I’ve hardly ate any lunches. There just doesn’t seem to be people around that I’d feel comfortable eating with. Well, it’s not even that. I’m not sure how I’d express how I feel in that sense. Or maybe I just miss the jokes that were constantly said when we would be around each other. I don’t really have that close connection I feel with anyone here on campus. And the food is different too. I’d pick Chinese food over any of these foods that they serve any day. But I am thankful for being able to eat.
And around Washington, PA, nothing is convenient. There doesn’t seem to be anything to do. Well I guess where we were located in Fudan, we had to go into the city to do things. But at least I was with people that wanted to explore. Honestly, I haven’t seen anything in Pittsburgh during my 2.5 years here so far. But for the majority, everyone lives in Pittsburgh. I’ll have to explore a little myself though. I know our school is offering The Lion King tickets for Valentine’s Day this year for $10. That’s a pretty good deal. I keep forgetting to buy a ticket. Hopefully I’ll remember tomorrow.
Things just don’t seem to be the same. And they aren’t. It’s just another change. I like change because I get to experience different area’s and see more. But I don’t like change when nothing seems to be good of it. But who knows, maybe if I stayed in China for another semester with the people around me, I wouldn’t have liked it. That’s what happened here. I was suppose to leave my second semester at W+J and transfer to a school in Boston but since I liked my surroundings so much I didn’t. But know look. I hate being here. Maybe if I transferred I’d still be fond of this place. Don’t anyone take offense to my writing here. I’m just expressing my feelings. I’m looking for an internship in a city this summer, other than NYC since I was there last summer. That’ll be another change and another experience and I’m looking into studying abroad in the fall in Europe. Another change and adjustment I’ll be making. These experiences can only lead to a wider knowledge of what’s out there and discovering more of myself. Something I am looking forward to. I suppose this will be my last blog here. But to stay tuned to the event of my life, you can continue reading at http://shartron.blogspot.com/. I’ll probably end up posting one more on here though of my picture album when I get that finished. So long for now!