Closing our China Chapter (by Inga)
One of our biggest life transitions
as a married couple so far took place during the past several weeks. We packed
up our lives in Wuhan, China, and returned to America on June 30. While we crammed full our suitcases, e-mails were flying back and forth regarding
a potential job for Trevor and a couple housing leads. We landed in America on a Sunday,
(a still-very-jetlagged) Trevor had a second interview for a job on that Tuesday,
and the next day, he was offered the position (hurray!!!) and we signed the lease
on our rental house. Add in three weeks of unpacking in our new town since then,
and it’s finally time for us to catch our breath and post an update. Since
this blog isn’t ‘Kingsleys in America,’ I’ll try to summarize for now just my thoughts
about our final weeks in China.
The international school where I worked in
China wrapped up classes in early June. A majority of the teachers and school
families I called community left a few days later for summer plans in their
home countries. Trevor’s contract kept him teaching almost until our June 30
departure date, so I had three weeks to knock out my ‘China bucket list.’ Many
days I hopped on a bus and went exploring. I never knew when I’d run across things like this
garlic peeling party. It was a joy to explore 'real Wuhan’—walking into areas
where it was life as usual for Chinese people and where foreigners were
few.
 |
| 'T' made sure we had matching Vera Bradley purses |
During our time in China, I made a
dear Chinese friend ‘T.’ I’ve lost track
of the number of times she helped me with directions, translated in a
situation or explained cultural nuances. Besides introducing me to many memorable
places around Wuhan, ‘T’ went out of her way to help me--for example, meeting me at the dentist early one morning and translating for me so I could get my teeth cleaned, a big item on my China bucket list. It's not just any friend who will sit by your side while you get plaque scraped off your teeth! 'T'
is a whiz at finding deals on the Chinese equivalent of amazon.com, and helped
us order some special gifts to take back to America. She showed an interest in baking so we made many goodies together. We even made an apple pie for American Flag Day. June's weather was 90s with high humidity, which made staying indoors next to an air conditioner very appealing. Still, in those last few weeks, we met up at a zoo, toured her university campus and ate at
Wuhan’s well-known ‘breakfast street.’ ‘T’s English is excellent, but she was always willing to patiently
help me learn and use new Chinese vocabulary and expressions. Most touching of
all, ‘T’ met Trevor and me at the airport to see us off on June 30. This was an
especially hard good-bye for me. I really hope she will be able to come visit us in America in
the near future.
 |
| Here's Paul with his Suzuki Book 1 words and illustrations |
Another hard good-bye was to my
young violin student Paul, his mom and little sister. Not only did I teach Paul a
weekly lesson, but also saw him often in the hallway at the international
school. “Mrs. Kingsley, tomorrow is violin class day!” he would often exclaim
when he saw me. His mom did a wonderful job practicing at home with Paul, and involving Paul's little sister in the joy of music, too. I felt sad leaving Paul without an English-speaking violin
teacher option to continue his studies in China. Paul had made some good
progress during our two school-years together. Between his enthusiastic
attitude, blond hair, blue eyes and French accent, he was one of the most
charming little students I’ve ever taught.
The ex-pat and Chinese friends we
made in Wuhan really made the two years a life-changing and incredibly
meaningful experience. In our suitcases, we were able to bring back some
objects that will remind us of China—our beautiful tailor-made clothes, green
tea leaves and a personalized wall scroll. But it will be the memories in our
hearts that will last much longer. There were both frustrations and joys of living abroad.
Being able to share and process these situations together with Trevor was a big blessing. I was a bit hesitant and unsure two years ago about moving to China, but now I am hopeful to return someday. We start our life now in America with new perspective. China helped make us more willing to try new things,
eager to become friends with people from all over the world and to find joy in simple things.
Thank you for supporting us on this journey to the Middle Kingdom and back~
