I could call a few places home. I was born and raised in Sichuan China, an amazing province in South West part of main land China. It’s famous for full bodied spicy food, all kinds of street food, from yam noodles soups to fried grass hopper skewers (I haven’t got the courage to try this one yet). Even after 15 years since left China, I still get excited whenever I see my hometown food mentioned on TV.
I lived in Manitoba Canada for 3 years. I fell in love with Tim Horton’s coffee, snow, underground tunnels and that “eh” at the end of each sentence. Winnipeg is the city I lived in, covered in snow 9 months each year, and the rest 3 months I battled with giant mosquitoes. I quickly adapted to -50 deg Celsius winter temperature, learned to appreciate heated bus stops and snow cleaning crew worked over night all the time to clear up roads. Even though Winnipeg is a beautiful city, and people were super friendly, it was a tough 3 years of my life. I was attending master’s program, working as a research assistant and a teaching assistant, and worked as a maid at the motel in front of the town home I rented one room from, and at 2 different restaurants. I lived with my super nice land lady Liz, her little puddle Buttons and her teenager niece Megan.
3 years later, I came to Houston, Texas, across the entire US. I was done with snow. Little did I know, I jumped straight into incredible heat and humidity. Luckily, Houston climate is similar to my hometown in China, I was able to quickly adapt to it. First summer though, I way under estimated the UV ray in Houston, I got gorgeously tanned (according to American culture that is, in my parents’ eyes, I was sun burned badly) to the point that I was approached by people thinking I was Hispanic.
So, yes, I am living on the other side of the world from where I grew up. I traveled to a handful of countries through work, which I am deeply grateful for. My life has changed so drastically in the past 12 years when I lived in Houston, good and bad. But I am quite comfortable living my life here in Houston.
I am so grateful that there are so many people around me who have me in their thoughts, supporting me emotionally and offered financial help. I feel I am right at home. At the end of the day, home is where the heart is.
