Homesickness

I have been in China for a month and I haven't been homesick. I don't even miss anything from America. Sure, the ice cream, chocolate, coffee, and bread are pretty lame here. I rarely hear English. It's dirty everywhere. I can't drink the water or eat fruit. But I don't care.

Really, I don't.

If I said I didn't miss my family, that wouldn't be true. But it's no different than when I'm at college in America. Last semester in the states I went home three times, during breaks. This semester I'm just not going home.

I know it's harder on my family because they worry about me more here than when I was in America. But in some ways, I feel safer here. For example, there are so many people on the streets at all hours that I can go out at night if I want. And I didn't like walking around campus after dark in the U.S...

Maybe the reason that I haven't been missing the U.S., though, is because I've been with other westerners a lot lately. It's awesome to be in China with people from so many different countries, but I get really excited about talking with other people from America. We have so much in common just because of where we're from. There's a basic understanding and common ground between all of us, and it's so refreshing.