Alrighty, so I am sitting in the hotel that we are in while in Shanghai and it is my last morning here in China. Soon we are going to check out, take care of some last minute things and then head off to the airport.
A lot has happened in the past five months. It has been a time of reflection, a time of change and a time of new experiences. As I think about what I will miss the most it hands down has to be saying ‘hello’ to people.
It may seem like something simple but I love it here because of how different people’s reactions are to it. It America, people often do say hello back, but it is a very boring affair. In China, people get excited. 🙂
One my first experience with it in China was in our home town, Huayuan. As we would walk down the street, people would yell ‘hello’ out the windows of their cars. When we would look at them they would have the biggest smile on their faces.
The experience is largely the same throughout all of China. My favorite is when you say ‘hello’ to someone and then they break out in uncontrollable giggles. Another good one is when you start walking towards a group of people and you can hear them practicing saying it.
Even better is all the different tones that people try to say ‘hello’ in. I’ll share some with you when I am back because I don’t even say hello like a normal person any more. Sure, I could have said ‘ni hao’ everything but the smiles and happiness that ‘hello’ was so much more worth it.