Whenever you are on a trip it’s impossible not to compare things to home.  For example a trip to central California might elicit a response like this,  “In Indiana we don’t have artichokes, but we have corn.”  A trip to Colorado and we might say “gosh, you have mountains here while in central Indiana we’re lucky to have a hill.”  No matter where you travel it’s always the same.

It is true, as well, when you meet people while on a trip.  If you are in Indianapolis and you meet someone from South Bend, no big deal.  If you are in California and you meet someone from Indiana, it doesn’t matter where in Indiana they are from; suddenly it’s like meeting a neighbor.  Well it’s the same here in China.  Meet someone from the U.S. and no matter where they are from, it’s as if they are our long lost best friends.

Earlier this week, while visiting Tiananmen Square, the students ran into a group of students from all over the U.S., and suddenly it was a party.  Twenty minutes of exchanging names, talking about what each group had done while in China. Chats about majors, interests and what they were headed to see next.  Then pictures, and suddenly the group felt a little less homesick.

All students from the U.S. visiting China. What a small world.

The same thing happened at the Forbidden City.  A group turned to our group and said something like “Wow, it’s great to hear English again.”  Seems they were a group from Penn State University, on a trip much like ours, and the discussions began again.  While in Shanghai, we ran into a family from Ann Arbor, Michigan on the elevator when leaving the Shanghai World Financial Center, and I, being from Michigan, felt the need to have a picture taken.  Again, suddenly it felt as if we had run into an old friend that we hadn’t seen in a while.

This idea that distance draws us closer also worked to our advantage when we first arrived in Beijing.  Terry and I had a discussion about meeting with the Lt. Governor here in Beijing.  If we had requested a meeting with her back in Indiana, our group would have been one of many who request that kind of thing.  The chances of getting time with her would be small.  However, take us both thousands of miles from home and instantly we are set apart from other groups, and we suddenly have a much closer relationship with the Lt. Governor.

Leaving the Shanghai World Financial Center we ran into a family from Ann Arbor, MI.

At China Daily, an English language newspaper here in Beijing, we were excited to visit with a reporter, Todd Balazovic who is a recent college graduate.  He decided to come to China and work because of the opportunities both in journalism and also from a cultural standpoint. Imagine my excitement when he introduced himself and said that he was a graduate of Central Michigan University.  My alma mater.  Oooh Wahhh chips!

No matter where each of us travels after this trip, I believe that this experience will change the way we look at the places we travel but even more the way we look at home.

It’s all in the context of things.