Last summer, I traveled halfway across the world to China. My grandparents from both sides of my family currently live there. Most of my family lives in China, so whenever I go there I get bombarded with random family members that I haven’t seen for years! During the trip last year, I realized that I won’t be able to go back to China for quite some time because I’d be starting college, so I decided to take advantage of my possible last visit there and tour the historical sites all over the country!
My brother and my cousin went to China with me and we went to Beijing! It was such an amazing place.
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We got to see the Great Wall, temples, The Forbidden City and Echo Wall. The architecture was so stunning that I couldn’t believe that those monuments were even built centuries ago! We went on a tour with a whole bunch of tourists and our tour guide knew so much history about China. My brother doesn’t know much Chinese so I had to translate most of the tour to him, but the ecstatic look on his face was priceless as I translated to him the wonderful stories.
It was awesome how the culture there is so different from ours. At home, I’d take my dinner to my bedroom and eat there while watching TV. That all changed during that summer. Over the summer, I’d have to wake up early to eat breakfast with the family! Although it was annoying at first, it became a fun time because we all had stories to tell each other of our trips and explorations! Family is very important in China, and I didn’t go by a single day without seeing a new family member dying to meet me.
The day I arrived, my baby cousin was just born a few days ago. I went straight to the hospital to see him. I even got to see his eyes open! Boy, he grew up fast! By the end of the summer he began to laugh and grab my finger! He was the cutest little baby ever! I’m so glad I got to see him!
Even though exploring and going on tours is fun, the part I enjoyed the most was going back to my village. I spent 4 years of my childhood in that little village in China, and I was so happy to go back to it. The old houses, familiar faces, and even the cute animals on the farm brought back so many wonderful memories I had there as a child!
As a teenager traveling the world, there is always one thing that I have to do. SHOPPING! I went to the mall one day, and there was a recruiter for a school. An English school to be exact, but he asked if I wanted to learn English! Wow, that was a laugh. He had a confused look on his face as me and my cousins chuckled at him. I ended up telling him that I was an American and took Advanced Placement English in my school and I would probably end up teaching his class instead of learning in it. The guy then offered me a job as an instructor! Too bad I had to leave after summer or else I’d be making money teaching people how to talk!
Last summer was so amazing that I want to go back again. And I am! I’m going back just before college starts for me so I can experience everything one more time. I love it there and I’m so happy to go back in just a few weeks! I can’t wait to go back to my village, explore, and even see my little baby cousin! What if I get to see his first steps?! How awesome would that be?
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