Reflecting on my Journey
One month after returning home from China, I can’t help but reflect on how I spent my summer. Starting from when I first left the airport in Des Moines, I learned new things every week, even once I arrived home.
The experience of living abroad taught me a lot about how other people live. Sometimes, the smallest differences were the ones I noticed most. In Chinese grocery stores, there are cashiers that weigh items in every department, rather than at the front like in most stores in the midwest. In addition, the plastic bags used at grocery stores were much sturdier than those in America. They were about twice the size as those in American stores, and more durable than trash bags. Another strange difference between the cities in America and China was the presence of toilet paper. Imagine a typical American restaurant. Think about what you might find. Salt, pepper, utensils, and …… toiler paper? When I was in China, in just about every instance I imagined I would find napkins I instead found toilet paper people used it for just about anything, tissues, napkins, and of course the toilet.
My experience, however, taught me more than just Chinese things. It taught me how to live on my own. My experience in China was the first time I spent a significant amount of time away from home. I learned how to manage my time better, how to arrive at work on time, and how to live without my parents’ help.
During my eight week journey, I also learned more about rice and laboratory work than I have in my entire high school career. The Borlaug-Ruan internship allowed me to experience things I never thought possible as a high school student. Meeting Yuan Longping, exploring the stunning sights of Zhangjiajie, and being immersed in a foreign culture made this experience one I won’t ever forget.
Finally, I learned to take things seriously. In this case, I didn’t take a small blister on the back of my foot seriously enough. Living in the United States my entire life, I was aware of the danger of an open wound, but I had never considered it a serious risk. Growing up, I always had cuts or scrapes from various activities in various stages of healing. It was never a big deal and it never developed into anything major. Going over to China, I had this same idea. That lack of care came back to bite me in the final week I was in China. The previous week I had done a lot of walking, and due to a lack of care on my end, I ended up with a blister on the back of my foot. No big deal, I’ve had blisters before, right? Well, it shouldn’t have been a big deal, but that next week we did research in the rice field, and without thinking I went barefoot in the mud. Over the next week, my foot began to hurt and swell, and by the time I got off the plane in Des Moines, the swelling had reached over halfway to my knee. 12 hours of arriving in America, I already had an emergency room visit under my belt in one of the fastest China → America emergency room speedruns ever. In the end, I was diagnosed with a skin infection, but I’m all healed up now.
Overall, my summer was exceedingly exciting thanks to the World Food Prize organization and CNHRRDC. Traveling abroad was an amazing experience that I would recommend to anyone. I learned more about China, it’s people, and myself in the process. The experience has shaped who I am as a person, and as a result of it, I am planning on attending college to pursue an international relations degree. Just remember, when traveling with an open wound, avoid the rice fields!
