On My Own

Before coming to China I wouldn’t have called myself independent. I know, you might be thinking, “You went to China alone, that’s pretty independent”. But truth be told, I preferred doing things with friends to doing them alone. If someone was going to the supermarket, I might have just gone along to spend time with another person.

Living in China on my own hasn’t done much to support this habit. Although I do have a site mate who lives four floors below me, I live alone. I do my grocery shopping alone, I take the bus alone, and I cook by myself for myself. And beginning last weekend, I also travel alone. Though I knew that I would inevitably become more independent during my time in China, I would never have guessed that I would take such a step.

I had hoped to be able to travel to Shanghai this year; a year which is quickly coming to a close. Due to the odd scheduling of midterms this semester, Kelly and I had different days off and so could not travel together. After taking a quick glance at my calendar, I realized that I could either go to Shanghai while my students were taking the midterms by myself or not go at all. I thought about it for a few hours and decided that “The Paris of the East” was a good city for my first solo trip, so I went.

Thanks to the miracle of Facebook, I sent a message to my Chinese teacher, Beibei, who recently moved to Shanghai. I told her that I would be coming and that I hoped she would have time to meet with me. I hoped that she would be interested in grabbing lunch one day, but she had something entirely different in mind. Beibei and her boyfriend, Steve, were so kind as to put their entire weekend on hold to show me their new city. They took me to the Bund, the French Concession, Old Town, and the Shanghai Museum. Before leaving for the trip I was a little worried that I would get bored of myself after spending four days alone. Thanks to Beibei and her friends, I didn’t have time to find out if my fears were valid. We spent 4 great days together.

While writing this entry I’ve begun wonder if this trip should even counts as my premier solo travel experience. I spent so much time with my friends in Shanghai that I was barely “solo” the entire time. I’m going it to leave you to make up your own mind, but I think I’m going to count it. People who have traveled with me know that the worst part of traveling together happens before we even leave. I get nervous about everything and anything. I went through that whole process alone, thinking I would be traveling alone. I bore all the fears I had about being by myself, which for me is the most awful part.

So, no, I don’t think that I would like to travel around Europe for two months alone like other people I know, but I can travel to an unfamiliar, Chinese city by myself with far less fears than I have imagined having. Take that independence!