I spent most of this weekend with a case of what I'm calling the Six-Month Blues. As far as I can tell, here's how I arrived at this point: If the first two weeks in China were about
coming to terms with the fact that I'd given up my apartment and job in NY, and left wonderful friends and family behind, the few months that followed were about feeling absolutely liberated, with endless possibilities stretched out before me in much the same way they did right after I graduated from college. I have studied Chinese intently, I've spent time reading books I never had time for in my busy New York life, and learned to approach writing as a craft again. I've taken a few trips around Yunnan, met up with my brother in Beijing and traipsed around Thailand for 10 days. I really feel like a student, collecting myself for a fresh start to my career. I have a great a apartment and feel comfortable in this city.
But I still haven't accomplished everything I would have liked to at this point. Also, the weather has been gloomy, and I caught a small head cold this weekend, and said goodbye to yet another new friend (probably the best mate I've made here) who left to go back to the States. So I spent much of the weekend moping about watching Season One of ABC's "Lost" on DVD (which, while a great and addictive show, is far from uplifting).
This morning I found a release from the Six-Month Blues in an unexpected place. I got up, showered and put on clothes that have not made it out of my closet since my June business trip to Beijing—a long skirt, button-down dress shirt and a pair of black boots (I've sported a pretty casual student look for most of my time here). I walked over to the Green Lake Hotel, one of Kunming's two main properties for well-heeled business travelers, and ordered a cappuccino. For about two hours I sat at the cafe, in a comfortable chair, reading. At the tables around me, Chinese suits talked business. Pleasant classical music played, and the hotel staff actually knew when I needed service. I spent about three times as much I could have for a fine cappuccino elsewhere, but I found the environment both soothing and motivating.
