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Disclaimer: This article is a short story, the names in the article are pseudonyms, the content is purely fictional, please watch it rationally, if there is any similarity, it is purely a coincidence
Text丨Ukiyo Qinghuan
Editor丨Ukiyo Qinghuan
Before she knew it, Caitlin had been in China for 5 years, and she had already become accustomed to a normal life, and she had confessed more than once that the gap between her life and that of the United States was clear at a glance.
But when I asked Caitlin if she would return to the United States, she shook her head and said that although the United States has developed better in some places, it is still not as comfortable as China, and she wants to settle in China for a long time.
So what is the difference between life in China and the United States, and why does Caitlin not want to return to the United States?
Panic when I first arrived
My name is Zhang Ziyang, I was born in a rural area, but with my own efforts, I was admitted to a key university in the provincial capital to study economics. The first time I came to the big city, I didn't know everything, and after entering the campus in a daze, I saw many foreign faces.
There are blacks and whites, and of course there are faces from some countries in Southeast Asia, but among them, blacks are the most, followed by whites, and the students have no good impression of blacks, although the black classmates are very enthusiastic but will deliberately stay away.
On the contrary, he is much more enthusiastic about white people, and he is completely spoiled as a baby, probably because of his appearance, white people look much more comfortable than black people, and in my class, there is a white man, still a girl, named Caitlin.
Caitlin is an American, middle-class from the United States, very beautiful, with delicate facial features, blonde hair and blue eyes, especially in the sun, giving people a feeling that they can be seen from a distance and cannot be profaned.
Because of this, the boys in the class have a strong affection for Caitlin, but Caitlin's personality is a little introverted, she doesn't like to talk to others, and she doesn't like to answer questions in class, she only listens to the teacher, and if she doesn't understand, she will only ask the teacher in class, and never take the initiative to communicate with her classmates.
I knew it might be because a little girl was going alone to a foreign country and felt insecure. The big reason why Caitlin chose to study in China is that one of her uncles was a foreign teacher at our school and recommended Caitlin to come.
Otherwise, she may never have crossed paths with our school in her life, and likewise she would not have crossed paths with me. On Saturdays and weekends, the rest of the students went out to play, and Caitlin went to her uncle's house and stayed there for two days.
I remember when I was a freshman, there was an elective class, I wasn't too interested in it, and when I arrived in the class, I sat directly in the back seat, and that time Caitlin happened to be late for class, and there was no place in the front row, so I sat next to me, and there was only one empty seat in the middle.
Originally, I was not interested in this class, not to mention that there was such a beautiful woman sitting next to me, always unconsciously looking at Caitlin, at that time Caitlin Chinese was not particularly good, listening to the class was very difficult, often using translation software.
And I was good at English, so I whispered to her that I could help her translate after class, but she just glared at me, and then didn't speak again, and continued to listen carefully. I thought Caitlin didn't take it to heart, but when the teacher turned her head, she whispered to me, "Thank you!"
This directly aroused my enthusiasm for class, so I listened carefully, took good notes, and finally waited until the end of class, which was also the last class of the day, and I did not leave, and neither did Caitlin.
After the students had dispersed, Caitlin sat down next to me, and I began to repeat the lecture in English little by little, telling her some important points, and it was only ten minutes to complete.
I could tell that Caitlin was really studious, she listened very carefully, and after retelling, she said that she wanted to invite me to a big dinner, and this sudden invitation really startled me, but I quickly reacted and quickly smiled and agreed.
It's a big meal, but how could I really let Caitlin break the bank, and we ate in the school cafeteria. I remember very clearly that we both ate Malatang that time, during which she kept praising her, saying that she had never eaten such a delicious thing in the United States before.
Lived for five years
Since then, my relationship with Caitlin has grown, but only between friends, and sometimes in my free time, I help her with her homework, and Caitlin will come to me from time to time to ask me questions.
And Caitlin is very pleased with one thing, every time I help her, no matter how big or small, she will invite me to dinner, of course, how can I always make a little girl pay, we almost each have a meal, and neither of us owes anyone.
When my classmates saw our relationship, they were very envious, and thought that we were together, and those who used to show favor to Caitlyn also began to deliberately keep their distance.
I don't know if it's because Katrin is too innocent, or if she really didn't notice the strange eyes of her classmates, but her relationship with me is getting better and better. Later, on weekends, I would take her out to play, wander the streets of the city, and feel the different atmosphere.
In the blink of an eye, four years of college have passed, we have completed our studies and started the next stage of our life journey, I have set my goal to enter a famous company in the provincial capital, but Caitlin is hesitant.
She had several options in front of her, one was to continue her education and graduate school, one was to enter the society and settle in China, and the other was to return to the United States, either to study or work.
Caitlin's parents wanted her to return to the United States, after all, who would be relieved that a little girl in her early twenties would live in a foreign country away from her parents, while Caitlin herself wanted to stay in China, whether it was for work or school.
Eventually, Caitlin approached me and asked me to give her an idea, I definitely wanted her to stay in China, preferably to work in the same company as me, and after listening to my advice, Caitlin seemed to have made a decision, but she decided to ask her uncle again.
I don't know what she said to the foreign teacher, except that Caitlin eventually chose to stay in China, but the foreign teacher arranged for Caitlin to join a multinational trading company, and I also tried to submit my resume to that company, but there was no response.
In this way, we both entered the society and separated, but fortunately, we were both in the same city, and we often met to play together during the usual vacations, and another year passed, and we finally established a relationship.
Life disparities
Having come to this point, I have to think about the rest of my life and see what Caitlyn thinks, after all, we are in a transnational relationship, and the future is likely to be separated for this reason. I definitely couldn't have followed Caitlin to the United States, after all, my family was rural, and my parents wanted me to be closer to them, and they wouldn't even let me go out of the province, let alone go abroad.
So I approached Caitlin and asked her how she felt about living in China over the years, and Caitlin said that it was very good, before she came to study, she subconsciously thought that China was backward and poor, and it was not until she arrived in person that she knew about China's development achievements over the years.
However, Caitlin also said that the gap between China and the United States is indeed relatively large, at a glance, first of all, in terms of consumption level, China is far lower than the United States, and the price of a meal is even less than two US dollars, but the opposite is that China's salary level is too low, which is low-income and low-consumption.
In addition, there is a huge difference in diet, Americans like to eat independently, eat some hamburgers, salads and other simple foods, while Chinese like to eat together, eat fried, barbecue and other heavy food, but it is undeniable that China's food flavor is unique, very much in line with her appetite, especially spicy.
However, Caitlin also mentioned that in China, although you don't have to wait too long, you usually get a number when you arrive at the hospital, but you need to charge a fee, and it is very complicated, and public hospitals in the United States are free of charge whether you take medicine or are hospitalized, and the disadvantage is that you need to wait in line.
There is also a very convenient life in China, takeaway can be delivered quickly, it is very cheap, there is usually no need to load cash, no matter what you do, you can use electronic payment, on the other hand, in the United States, you also use traditional cash payment, in this point China is much smarter and more developed than the United States.
In the end, Katrin said one of the most shocking points for her, that is, China's security environment, she has been in China for five years, she has not met any bad people, even if she walks on the street at night, she does not have to worry about safety at all, and the taxi is on call, which is very convenient.
And in the United States, let alone her after dark, even her parents rarely go out, and the streets are empty, for fear of encountering bad people or terrorists and threatening their personal safety.
Although I have never been to the United States, I often see gun violence in the United States from some international news, and if I am not careful, it is a worry for my life, not to mention Caitlin, even I am afraid of a big man.
Having said all this, I knew it was time to get to the point, so I asked her directly what she planned to do in the future, whether she would stay in China forever or return to the United States, but to my surprise, Caitlin had no interest in returning to China, and she said that if possible, she would like to settle in China for a long time, like her uncle.
epilogue
I knew that Caitlin had adjusted to life in China, but I didn't expect her to be so straightforward and nostalgic for her hometown, so I asked her parents what to do, and Caitlin hesitated and said that she believed that her parents would support her decision after learning the real situation in China.
Sure enough, after Caitlin told her parents about the gap between life in China and the United States, her parents felt incredulous and had the idea of going to China, which I must have been very happy about, and said that when Caitlin and I got married, I must let my parents-in-law come to China to live for a period of time and experience the development of China over the years.
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