I had the
opportunity to spend a week in San Francisco before leaving for China at the
end of February. San Francisco is a
natural in-between layover from Minnesota to China which made visiting there on
my way to China an easy decision for me.
My aunt and
uncle live in Alameda, California a peaceful island community situated on the
Oakland side of the bay. Being able to
see them in California is always a wonderful experience since they are both
always so full of life.
The diagnosis of
my uncle's cancer last year has naturally drastically changed their situation
in Alameda. Having to fight for your
life changes people, and I knew that my uncle's constitution might be rattled a
little bit from going through the whole ordeal.
Paul's situation
when I arrived in San Francisco was consistent in the sense that he was
consistently in the hospital trying to recover after undergoing several
operations on his stomach. His first operation was performed in December
in order to remove a tumor in his stomach.
After this first operation, Paul lost his ability to process whole foods
in his small intestines. From the middle
of December until now Paul has been unable to process whole foods. Complications from the first surgery forced the
expediency of other operations since December.
The
result of that first operation has been his almost perpetual stay in the
hospital over the past few months. Paul
is still currently limited to a liquid diet which has had a ghastly effect on
his body.
These factors convinced
me that it would probably be a sobering experience which awaited me in San
Francisco. When I arrived at the
hospital in Oakland, I was encouraged to find that despite the difficulty of
his situation he was still in good spirits.
I am truly amazed by his fighting spirit, and desire to battle on
despite having faced so many early setbacks.
Spending time
with Paul reinforced my choice to return to China in the sense that I saw how
precious time can be in life. It is
apropos to say that time waits for no one, and if you do not seize the day the
chances that your life force will be utterly spent on the completion of tasks
below your standard is an absolute certainty.
Also During this
week I also had the fortune of spending time with some of my good friends from
high school: Elliot, and Johan. On this
trip, I had for only the second time in three years been able to see my best
friend: Elliot Thomas. Being able to
spend a few days with my long-time friend was pretty special since distance had
barred us from such a reunion over the past couple of years.
While I was
living in China teaching and studying, Elliot was living in Costa Rica volunteering
with the Peace Corps. The natural
distance and extended nature of our time abroad pushed us to maintain our
friendship through email and facebook.
Through these correspondences, we both discovered new things about the
other person which might never have come to light had we had maintained our normal
forms of interaction. In all honesty, I
feel that using different mediums to communicate has an enlightening quality to
it. I feel that one can really improve
their usage of language over a long-period of time if they stick with writing. In this way, I am not surprised that both of
us improved our communication skills and learned the value of using print to
interact with others.
When I was with
Elliot and Johan we always seemed to find something fun or interesting to
do. Elliot took a couple of days off of
work which allowed us to take half day trips to both Mir Woods and Sonoma
County. During my stay in San Francisco,
we spent a lot of time in the city itself which I found to be quit a unique
experience. Out of all of the places I
have traveled to San Francisco holds a high position regarding the amount of
entertainment it offers for young-adults.
Each district of
the city possessed its own distinct feel and had the markings of the specific
culture which inhabited its area. San
Francisco encapsulates Asian, Latino, Caucasian, and African cultures depending
on where go. I unfortunately did not
have enough time to pick up on more than the obvious differences between these
areas. If I had spent more time in the
city I undoubtedly would have stumbled upon other distinct cultural areas in
that enormously diverse city.
After the
completion of my week in San Francisco, I felt really re-energized to return to
China. My batteries had been
fully-charged during my wonderful time visiting friends and family. On the eve of my disembarkation from San
Francisco, I made sure to tell everyone how much I appreciated their
hospitality during my stay.
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