Why I Miss China

By Amirah Ahmad

I miss China.

Last summer, I visited China for 6 weeks for an internship at Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP)1. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press： 外语教学与研究出版社，是一家以外语出版为特色的大学出版社。. I wrote articles on a weekly basis, lived in a hutong, immersed myself in the local culture, and made everlasting friendships with the people who allowed me to enjoy my trip to China as much as I did.2. on a weekly basis： 每周；immerse in： 沉浸于；everlasting：永久的。

I was flipping through3. flip through： 浏览。pictures of my trip the other day, and I was surprised at how many colleagues and locals I had befriended. Stumbling upon4. stumble upon： 无意中发现。a picture of my colleagues in the technical department, I tested myself by trying to name them by the names I had appointed them since I couldn’t accurately pronounce their name in Chinese. I distinctly remember the day I gave them an easy“American” name, as I drew upon5. draw upon： 利用。the meaning of the Chinese name and their personality for inspiration. Some names were Cake, Trumpet6. trumpet： 喇叭。, and Dragon. They were silly, but they stuck7. stick： 长久留存。.

Not only Beijing, but I also miss Inner Mongolia. The grasslands were breathtaking; the landscape was so serene.8. serene： 宁静的。One of the pictures I found from my archives was a couple of people on horses, nonchalantly passing us as they trotted down a gravel pathway.9. 我在相册中看到这么一张照片，几个人骑着马沿着碎石小道一路小跑，从我们身旁漫不经心地经过。archive： 存档；nonchalantly： 若无其事地；trot：小跑；gravel： 碎石。Another one of the pictures was a picture of my family with a local family who ran a store with various Mongolian foods and clothing accessories10. accessory： 配饰。. The picture shows us embracing11. embrace： 拥抱。one another as if we’ve known each for years. We had only known each for 5 minutes!

China is an immense nation. Each province, each region, each town, each neighborhood encapsulate12. encapsulate： 概括。a different part of China that I admire. Take Beijing,China for example. In all of its modernity, it also possesses remnants13. remnant： 遗迹，古迹。of oldage Chinese practices. A five-minute walk from the mall, you’ll run into a group of old men playing checkers14. checkers： 跳棋。as they smoke cigars and chat until nightfall. Just a couple miles away from an international corporation lays remnants of a historic,ancient Buddhist temple15. Buddhist temple： 佛寺。.

Sick of the city?

Travel to Inner Mongolia to experience the wonders of the Mongols. I distinctly remember the day a native, from the small town we were visiting in Inner Mongolia,took my horse’s saddle as he started to gallop with his own horse.16. distinctly： 清楚地；saddle： 马鞍；gallop： 疾驰。The wind was so liberating as both of our horses pounded the Inner Mongolian ground.17. 当我们俩在内蒙古大草原上策马奔腾时，我们能感受到疾风的呼啸。liberating： 自由的；pound： 持续地沿着……行走。Just a couple hours later, I feasted on fresh lamb and I couldn’t help but thinking that I was interacting with and eating a meal provided by the ancestors of Genghis Khan.18. feast on： 尽情享用；Genghis Khan： 成吉思汗（1162—1227），蒙古帝国可汗，世界史上杰出的政治家、军事家。

There is so much the land offers. You can meet intellectuals or simple vendors of the local fruit and vegetable stand.19. vendor： 小贩；stand： 摊位。You can visit the city but also draw back and absorb the serene landscape.

It’s been almost a year since I’ve visited, but hopefully I return in the near future to re-experience the wonders as well as adventure and explore new things.

Until next time, China.

在中国为期六周的实习已经过去将近一年。翻开那时的照片，作者沉浸在了美好的回忆当中。与朋友们一起工作的日子充实而愉快，但更令她难忘的还有内蒙古大草原的宁静、骏马的奔放和烤羊肉的美味。都市的喧嚣与繁华、大自然的静谧、古老文明的沉淀……在作者眼中，这就是中国的美之所在。

北京胡同一景