America is boring

[tsap seui]

Point well taken Izus, and thank you for it. I saw the culture shock my girlfriend is going to be in for on my first day in her city, then on the next two trips talked for hours about it with her, trying to paint as honest and candid of picture about my home here as I possibly could. I truly agonized about this and with all honesty and fairness to my girlfriend discussed it at great length leaving no moss covered stone unturned.

 

I've told her how extremely different her style of life is in her city as compared to my life in a rural town. Only time will tell as she isn't here yet, but she now well understands that her life with me is going to be both of us working hard for a couple or three months as I renovate another home to flip and then we're gonna be on a plane to visit her family or down under to see my friends in New Zealand and Australia. I grew up in the Washington/Baltimore/Northern Virginia debacle.....er ah...metropolitian area and only moved two hours away to the rural mountains 4 years ago, but with my itchy feet and wanderlust we're only gonna be here 8 or 9 months a year and the time here will be filled with rock concerts, work, dancing, and taking some time to smell the roses..LOL...not grow them.

 

I love this little town, it was once described in the Washington Post as being 2 hours and 100 years away from Washington, DC, but with life being so short and there being so much to experience in it, this little town is only a laid back, beautiful, and comfortable place to rest my ol' Aussie hat. Hopefully she ain't gonna be bored other than the boredom of the 14.5 hours it takes to get from LAX to Sydney or Auckland.

 

I also hope she can get used to breathing oxygen instead of exhaust and coal dust fumes...LOL..that may be an experience in and of itself.

 

tsap seui

[SinoTexas]

I am not there yet either. My fiancee and I have been over what life might be like on my ranch. I have explained it, showed and sent photos, walked around the ranch with my web cam and anything else that would give some type of visualization of this place. I think she still see's it through rose coloured glasses and a fantasy, but we'll see. I think she is "reading the glossy tourist brochure" with all the nice pictures and flowery words. She won't get to the "fine print" until she's here. As I said in a previous thread: Nearest neighbour - three miles away

Nearest paved road - a mile away

Nearest small town (2000 friendly folks) - eight miles away

Nearest Cities -Austin, Houston, San Antonio - one hour to one and a half hours away

Nearest "anything/person" Chinese - one and a half hours away.

What to do - Hiking, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, watching sunsets, gardening, clothes optional activities...

I make a 90 minute rural drive several times a week to teach a classes at Texas A&M University, plus my travels with the National Park Service, all of which she can go with me. I love my lifestyle and my work. Although I am not currently stationed in a national park area, I feel grateful that I have lived and worked in places where people want to take a vacation to (Grand canyon, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, etc) and enjoy my "work". I love the opportunity to visit and shop in cities, but I love even better the chance to go on my own terms, knowing that in a few hours or few days, I'll be back on the ranch house porch swing sipping a Shiner Bock Beer and looking out over the rolling hills and enjoying the peace and quiet. While I enjoy my work in China with the students there, I get bored and ready to get back

 

Will she like it? Will she be bored? Dunno. She was born are raised in Yichang, Hubei, a fairly large city (population 3.69 million) and been there all 45 years of her life. She claims she is looking forward to such a change in her life style.

 

.

 

I'll get back to you on this, in a years time and let ya'll know!

 

As aye,

 

Jim

[robert]

Well, I just asked Limei if she thinks the U.S. is boring. She stated that if I went to work everyday and she was alone at home then yes she would be bored.Becauase we are spending every moment together she loves her new life. She came from Guangzhou and is now living on a 60 acre country home. She enjoys everything we do. Working in the garden, mowing the yard walking in the woods or down the dirt road in the evening. Going shopping or fishing. We have no schedule, just whatever is desired at the moment. I guess we are living a lifestyle and a pretty private one. We both enjoy it! I'm a "lucky guy"!

[C4Racer]

We found a cure for us....

 

http://home.comcast.net/~mleard001/Pictures/IMG_0020.jpg

 

He keeps our lives interesting..

[izus]

something that really bothers both ChunYan and i is when someone starts talking bad about florida.

ie

alot of new yorkers come down to live in florida and they will turn around and brag about how boring florida is and how great new york is....

yet where do they live, i usually tell them to go home then since their city is so great.

just the other day my cousin said somethng like that and ChunYan got offended and told me afterwards she almost said something to her to the effect that she doesnt need to live here if she doesnt like it.

[jasal]

its all in your attitude....

if you wanna be depressed about life in the US of A...

im sorry to tell you but you aint gonna be happy anywhere.

The cow always sticks his head through the fence for better grass.

and you got the freshest grass in the world right now in the States.

 

i mean if your girl is currently living in BeiJing and she moves to a place with one traffic light and one store in a town of about 300...

this is just not going to be an easy transition, ontop of everything else she will endure for leaving everything she has ever known.....be ready.

 

 

I agree with IZUS and I'll go one step further. America has many faults and definitely needs some changes. BUT.. having been to many different countries over the years and having enjoyed each visit to those different countries, I wouldn't swap any of them for my little piece of America. Dullsville? Uncle Samville? Hmmm.. I think that maybe it's not America that's dull and boring but maybe the way you live your lives. You can be bored to death and be living in Paradise, but isn't life what we make it? I'm not one that needs to hit the party scene nor is my SO. We both love to read, go for walks, do simple things and just enjoy being together. When we want to be active and go and do things, then we do... and when we want to be lazy, then we do that too. My city is small (100,000) compared to my SO's hometown of 10 million. She has always wanted to have a quieter life with not so many people crowding around. America is still a great place despite it's many faults and I kind of like it where I'm at.

[C4Racer]

I asked my wife. At first she said, boring yes. Then she changed her mind and said, "No fun just different. I need to learn American fun. Many more families go out and enjoy together. Like boating, picnics, jet skis and many more outdoor activities. That's it just get out and do it !!!

[sweattrl1]

ok my turn, my wife have always lived in large cities, when we first meet online i told her i was a small town man, no use for the big city, but when she arried in the usa , and i brought her to my hometown , she could not believe there was no tall buildings over three stories tall,and the traffic was so easy to drive in , she was also supprised , that drivers obayed the law , and didn't try to bully you, she loved the clear blue carolina sky, and the fresh air , and the nice clean lakes, the ducks and geese, and the birds , and all the wild animals , that you see in the fields and in the woodsshe have seen animals she have never seen in her life, the first thing she would say is if we catch it , we can eat iti tell her no need , we can buy all the meat she want, no need in eating all Gods little creatures, but she don't really like much meat , mostly , veg.she also told me she loved the usa , i was so much healther and cleaner than china, did i tell you, she think living so close to a super walmart , is the greatest thing in the world, and belks have sales that she gets so excited about . pizza she loves . banana pudding with whipped cream, and also baked patatoes with sour cream ,all drives her crazy, ice cream , ummmmm she say is the best in the world, did i tell you she also love hot dogs, not the kind that bark either,but the best part is the warm summer nights , we sit out on the deck and watch the jets as they fly way over head, and joke about where they are going, and behold every once in a while , we see a shooting star,and she say make a wish , and i always smile and tell her, i need not do that, why she ask , i reply , i have all a man could wish for , sitting by my side,bored no she is never bored, lots of books, american tv, radio , and every wed, and sunday church,and did i say she will always have me, she is truely happy , and she always say , this is , the good life.and the future is what we look foward to.

[mchina34]

sweattrl1, very enjoyable read. thanks for posting it!!

[chilton747]

sweattrl1, very enjoyable read. thanks for posting it!!

 

I 2nd that big time!!!!!!!!

[jbray]

True, the grass is always greener... I can remember many times in Chengdu, both of us complaining that we were bored... But, we were complaining about it while we were walking along the river, or on ChunXi Lu (a pedestrian street), or riding our bikes to some pretty little county.

 

Our boredome here is more because of our lifestyle. We both leave for work at 6:20 and get home at 6:30. I am working from 7:00 to 5:00 (with no lunch). When we get home, we are VERY tired, so we don't want to go out... I am not as bored as her though. She doesn't really have hobbies. In general, I noticed when I would ask Chinese about their hobbies, they would day, "I like to watch TV, and sleep..."

[tsap seui]

Isn't life truly and quite simply all about what you yourself make of it?

 

If ya don't figure out a way to round of the edges of the box called life, you're just gonna be square.

 

 

 

tsap seui

[Dennis143]

Or people doing Tai Chi in the parks and street corners.

 

 

 

I'm in a new a state since I made my first trip to China and no longer hold these opinions. But I wonder what some of the SO's are saying out there, especially the ones that are living in cities with little or no Asian influence, or just small town period. Or ones that are living in large cities with East Asian influence would be interesting to know tpo.

 

 

 

Anyone care to tell us what your SO has experienced, and maybe even why.

Well, in our hood, you can get much of the same feeling as China with taiji in the parks every morning. Living around and among so many Chinese we still enjoy the flavor of China, especially with Chinese friends dropping by unannounced and having an impromtu, mini-party until bedtime.

For me, I like it this way, as America is boring by comparison to China. I think that's one of the reasons I enjoyed China and miss it so much.

[izus]

and aint that the american way sweattrl1 ?

 

we sure are blessed huh?

[RLS]

I will just add that I live in a "boring" place on the map. Very few Chinese people, no recreation to speak of, a couple Asian markets, etc. If we want to do anything we have to drive at least an hour or so. Thank God I have a big backyard where she keeps busy planting stuff. She studies English at home (for now) and watches Vcd's that she brought with her. She can't believe the price of some things. Yesterday I bought her a Dvd and it was $16.50. She told me the same video in China would have been a couple bucks. "Very expensive" she said.