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11th August
Winter and Spring passed, Summer arrived and Autumn is already around the corner. 7 months of fried rice, rumbustious children and Chinese folk spitting and farting directly in front of me. All of a sudden I've grown quite fond of Songjiang, China!
"What the…" I muttered to myself with a huge smile on my face. I made my way along a small concrete walkway, which led directly into a mass of lily pads and flowers. Where was I? This was nature at its best. Pink and white lily flowers open wide, as if calling out to the sun directly above us.
A gentleman ushers me over to the pond to show me a turtle that just swam by. We pointed together and he smiled. Other men walked by but he didn't show them the turtle. I thanked him and continued exploring. Taking photos of the skilfully, crafted tiles on the roof, I had an overwhelming feeling of wanting to cry. I laughed and tried to take another photo, surprised at myself for the sudden tears in my eyes.
Emailing a good friend of mine:
I want to write a blog called - Fondness. I know what I want to say in my mind, but the words don't seem to be flowing out correctly through the keypad. I want to talk but can't quite explain. Sometimes magical moments are best just kept within oneself, a special moment or day that unfortunately only I understand.
His response:
Whenever I want to share something or get something across - I've learned that really there is no way of getting across what is inside you, say it, write it…… but I find a bit of comfort in a philosophy that is well aligned with Orthodox preaching (and others too but there are distinctions to be drawn) - everyone has their own path and what follows from that - the respect we must show to other peoples choices and actions, and the humility we must learn about ours and how perhaps by trying to share these special moments we diminish them, take away some of that specialness.
Okay so it's not like bumping into the Dalai Lama but just one guy or girl, who will give you a wee smile or free drink at the shop, these moments that sound utterly insane to anyone else as they're nothing, but when you've been placed into a community alone, where no-one is like you, these little gems make that day the best of the week. I guess I seem to have a best day of the week every day then!
Walking to the apartment, the father of the Muslim restaurant pulls over on his scooter and directs me to sit on the back. I hop on and he drives me all the way to the apartment front door. He wouldn't accept my thank you, telling me in Chinese, 'it was no problem!'
Just as Ilya said, 'trying to share these special moments we diminish them, take away some of that specialness' These small but precise moments I share with my community around me each day makes me feel more at home, that it's mine.
I feel comfortable x x
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