On Surprises, and China - by Laura Lavigne

On Surprises - and China

8/15/2017

My youngest son is in China. He has been there for two days now, and will be for almost three more weeks. Why? Because he wanted to.

He worked his butt off the last couple of weeks, to make this happen. Not just making the money part work, but also meeting the airline's super tight requirements, making his way back and forth to the consulate for his visa... that kind of stuff.

Finally, he was on the plane and now, well ... he's there.

Me, I never thought much about going to China, and the photo he sent me really made me realize how far he is, and how very foreign (to me) his new environment.
It feels a bit like he's on the moon.

This morning, via Skype messaging, I ask him what he feels is the main flavor of Bejing. His answer comes quickly: family-like.

Wow. There pops a bubble of preconceived notion. Family-like! I ask him to tell me a little more and he says: it feels like a Sunday picnic with the kids.

Double wow. Double bubble pop.

I know so little about the country and yet I apparently had decided that I knew enough to be deeply surprised by his depiction.

I love this. I love having my preconceived notions pop. I love being shown that I am wrong about my assumptions. I love being surprised.

A Sunday picnic with the kids.

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