Lack of Posts
China has definitely been one of the most difficult countries I’ve had to deal with on my travels. Not only was getting a visa one of the hardest and most frustrating and most expensive experiences of my life, but simply trying to get a stamp in my passport and trying to leave the country were challenges. With the outbreak of pig flu, Asia has been taking particular precautions, particularly against Americans and Mexicans. And when the woman behind the counter heard my cough (which I believe to be a product of Beijing pollution) and saw my passport was American, she went on red alert. Her commands had no polite undertones and her face had nothing close to gentleness in it. She asked me where I had come from, to which I replied truthfully that I had been in Hong Kong prior to coming to China. The roar that came from her mouth made me realize I had given her an answer she wasn’t pleased with. ‘You are American. Your passport is American. You should cooperate,’ she said, shaking her finger at me. Despite the fact that I haven’t been to the States for two years and haven’t lived there for four, she continued to yell at me. When she realized I didn’t have a temperature, she escorted me to the quarantine counter where she made her argument for my immediate containment. They made calls to officials and finally decided I was okay to go, leaving me to run for my boarding pass and just barely make my flight.
In contrast, when I arrived in Korea they handed me a survey asking me if I’d had any symptoms such as a fever in the past 6 days. I didn’t divulge my cough, and I was let through with the ease that I had hoped for in China.
Coming back to Korea and eating the food, seeing familiar and unfamiliar faces, dealing with perverted men and shiny lights, I realized that what I missed more than anything during my travels was familiarity. I played bubble-gum K-Pop when I was dodging Vietnamese motorbikes, I ate Korean ramen when I had an upset stomach. With these items I was able to feel like I hadn’t just stepped into a black abyss where I couldn’t even read the signs.
Today I’m headed to Tokyo for a night before going back to the keys of the recession. Although I haven’t posted much during my days in China (due to most blogging websites being banned by the government) and since I returned to Korea, there’s more to come. But for now, yet another airplane awaits.
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