Another Me in the World

       I never thought that I would participate in the immigration wave until I married a person who is an immigrant offspring. Furthermore, I never thought that I would become another person I had never seen. When I moved to Chicago, a new world opened for me. I was excited at first because of the gorgeous buildings and mesmerizing lake shore, but the anxiety gradually emerged. I suspected that I couldn’t maintain everything I have ever had, the fundamental things including the customs and the hobbies. As expected, everything has changed and resolutely switched the track I was used to. Thus, when I am bored at home, I always remember my favorite hobbies in China with a deep nostalgia.

First of all, the most upsetting thing is about westerners don’t have nap schedule at noon. Perhaps because they are always busy at noon. As a traditional custom, Chinese people always take a big break at noon. After lunch, people tend to sleep one-two hours in order to accumulate energy for the rest of a day. Honestly, I want to take a recliner with me everywhere. A month ago, when I found out that all of my courses would go until 2 PM, I considered that it would be a difficult challenge in my routine. In the past few years, I worked at a interior design company. There were five beautiful women in my office. Every working day, we took out our recliners in a row and took a nap after lunch. We whispered gossip about our colleagues and bragged, and we shared our secrets with each other. What a wonderful memory! I miss the friendship, and I also miss the nap.

Meanwhile, to satisfy my taste bud. I have been learning cooking from the Chinese cookbooks since I gave up my enthusiasm of eating Chinese food in Chicago. Many Chinese restaurants in Chicago lack creativity. For instance, people can find black pepper rib in most Chinese restaurants, because there is an excuse that people would say maybe it is popular. There are eight cuisines in China, like Sichuan cuisine, Hunan cuisine, and Fujian cuisine. However, the Cantonese cuisine plays a symbolic role in Chicago. This is a regrettable thing that Chicago’s cuisine is extremely simplistic. My hometown cuisine is Fujian cuisine. There is a restaurant that specializes in Fujian cuisine in Chinatown. Unfortunately, it didn't satisfy my taste bud. In fact, it brought me more homesickness when I had dinner there.

Finally, one of my favorite hobbies in China was enjoying the nighttime amusements. I felt like a young person in China because I usually went to karaoke after work with my friends. However, I felt like an old person in Chicago. Not only is the karaoke outdated in Chinatown, but also bars usually closes early in this city. Therefore, I have to go sleep early because I can’t find anything that makes me excited. There is no place instead of karaoke that makes my blood burn and completely relax. Maybe I should seek some new amusements to enrich my boring nightlife or accept the fact that more sleeping would be good for my health.

      In conclusion, what is lost in translation for me is having lunch in a Chinese restaurant and taking a nap after that. When I get up, I could hang out with my old friends in a karaoke club. Those hobbies used to be an indispensable part of my life, but I have lost these energetic roots. I have became a person who is listless, and I often stay at home the whole weekend. I assume I will get tired of this situation one day. Consequently, I will take some mature methods to change my life instead of holding onto the deep nostalgia.  Developing new hobbies is probably a good choice, such as golf, fitness and cooking. Finally, I’m looking forward to meeting a better me.