"Home" for Christmas

This is my first time “home” for Christmas since moving to China. In many ways, it feels so normal. It is normal to eat dinner with my family and play games with them. At the same time so many things have changed. My sisters, who were 12 and 18 when I moved to China are 17 and 22, have grown up and changed so much. My brother was not home for Christmas. Friends around me have gotten married, had babies, and moved away. And I’ve changed. It's hard to put into words all the ways that I have changed, but there are a few concrete ways that I can identify.

1)   I don’t want to wear shoes in the house. Growing up, unless our shoes were muddy we would wear shoes in the house. However, now when I walk in the door, I take my shoes off and put on slippers just like I would do if I were “home.”

2)   The US is so cold! Or China is so hot! I don’t know which one. In China, even in the winter, I hardly ever wear sweaters and sweatshirts. It is not that China (at least where I live in China) is actually warmer, but the heat is so warm, and I have basically no control over the heat. In the US, we have a great deal of control over the heat; it is expensive, so we keep the house at a cooler temperature. Also, I imagine a house that over 50 years old is harder to keep warm than an apartment that is less than a decade old.

Now I remember why I used to constantly drink tea, and I don’t feel such a need now. I mean I do enjoy a cup of tea every once in a while, but it is more out of comfort than necessity (this is a slight exaggeration; it’s not THAT cold).

3)   On the topic of cold, I don’t know why Americans drink ice water in the middle of winter. I mean during the summer, I, like a good red, white, and blue-blooded American, drink ice water even in China. But if it is winter and I am cold, I do not want to drink ice water. I do not even want to drink the water without ice. It’s too cold!

4)   On a similar note, it is a bit weird to drink water from the tap though we have good tasting tap water.

5)   I keep using tissues instead of napkins. In China, you can buy napkins, but they are not as readily available as tissues. We generally only use napkins when we have guests. On normal days we just use tissues. Also the fact that I say tissues instead of Kleenex is also something that has changed. I guess tissues is just more universal.

6)   Americans eat so much dairy! I don’t know if it is just because I don’t eat that much dairy in China and so I am eating it more, but I have been eating so many dairy products. In China, you can get dairy products, and I eat yoghurt every morning for breakfast, but things like sour cream are a special treat. I can pretty much get most dairy products I want, but they are expensive. Therefore, dairy becomes a special treat, which is probably healthier anyways. My stomach is not used to all this dairy.

7)   On the topic of food, I don’t know if it is the richness of American food or what, but my appetite has diminished significantly. I don’t feel like my diet in China is all that different. I also feel like I eat a fair amount. However, for whatever reason I can’t eat the portions that my family eats.

I am sure there are more things that I could come up with, but this is what I have so far. The thing is this whole concept of home. A wise person told me before I moved to China that living in China made her realize that this earth is not her home. I have clung to this truth the past few years. I may change and do silly things like drink hot water and use tissues instead of napkins, but that doesn't really change who I am. As the Father has been reminding me time and time again. I am a child of the one true king and this earth is not my home.