Retail Therapy

I've been back in China for a week and I keep having a few of those, "why do I live here" moments. As soon as my friends and I returned from our respective holidays, we began the complaints. It's hard not to do. I try to be in the moment and to appreciate all that I'm experiencing here, but when you take a holiday to say, Italy or Australia, and you see that blue skies exist, coming back to a heavily polluted city can be a bit difficult.

My friend Antoine returned from Australia (funnily enough he and his family were in Sydney when I was there), and he made a few really valid points. He said something along the lines of, "It's hard to come back when you realize a) there are blue skies elsewhere b) there are more than two bars and restaurants you can frequent c) you can drink the tap water without being frightened of the side effects and d) why am I here in the first place?" I giggled because it's so true. Another friend went back home to Italy for Christmas and New Years and he said that being back made him feel like he was experiencing it all for the first time. Italy is beautiful, no doubt.

I didn't have too many initial emotions returning, but the one thing that has really gotten me has been the gray. It was so polluted the day I flew in that I couldn't see half of the buildings as I drove from Guangzhou to Dongguan. The tallest building here in the city was barely visible, and the ones around it were nearly covered in smog. Yesterday walking around, I could literally taste the grit in my teeth. That's not a pleasant experience.

It doesn't help at all to see post after post on Facebook of Charleston...why people move there...what places are hot right now during restaurant week, skyline and marsh. Actually, that's made me really consider what I'm doing and what I'll do when my contract is up.

The past six months have flown by and I've honestly NOT had a bad experience. I have met good friends, traveled to many wonderful places, and I have a decent quality of life when it comes to my finances (the cost of living is so low). It's a catch 22 I suppose, but I wonder if Charleston will be next on the list or if I'll want to go somewhere else. I mean, there are VERY FEW places in the world better than Charleston (actually I can't think of anywhere better at the moment), but am I ready to go back? If I'm perfectly honest with myself...and those of you who are reading, I can't say that I am. I love my family and friends to the moon and back, and I can't tell you what I'd give to inhale lungs full of that salt water and marsh air, but am I ready for that?

Being that I have had these feelings in the last week and also that I got a bit sick recently, I went to the doctor's office yesterday for some tests (nothing serious at all so no worries) and after went to lunch with a friend. She and I both were at the doctor's together because she had her own "issue." I had discovered a store a day or two prior which I happened to notice had Vineyard Vines on a rack outside the shop, so we decided to make an afternoon of it...retail therapy is the best medicine after all. I had tried two dresses the first time I went and I finally talked myself into going back to get them.

The shop is called Isabella and isn't fancy by any means, but it caught my eye when I saw the V.V., so I had gone in and found, to my astonishment, Tory Burch, Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade, Michael Kors, etc. Sidebar here...the night I first found the shop was my friend's birthday and of course I was late to her dinner because I was shopping and so excited. I told her she must be like a sister to me because typically, if I go looking for a present for my own sister, T'Lene, I end up buying things for myself!

I was so stoked to find Isabella because shopping in China (here in Dongguan) isn't usually any fun. We have stores, plenty of them, but not things I wear. The most exciting thing I'd found up until this point was H&M and Zara and both had weird items. After a friend in Japan had told me about clothing being marked "size fat," I got really discouraged about shopping here. Yes, we can get things made easily, but it's even hit or miss with that.

When my friend Lisa and I returned to Isabella yesterday, I ended up buying the two dresses I had originally seen and then another sweater which was almost identical to the Ralph Lauren dress I purchased, but I loved it. The dress has already been assigned to a dinner I'll be going to in Hong Kong soon. Totally worth it. I spent a whopping 700 RMB on those three pieces. That comes to $116 total. The tags for the "real" price on one dress alone was $165. Lisa ended up buying two Tory Burch wallets for the equivalent of $80 USD. Not a bad deal at all. Our purchases even came with a cute little reusable "Chanel" bag.

On our way back home from our shopping spree, we passed another shop that I have walked by a million times. It was like Kate was calling me from inside...I saw a dress I recognized way back in the store and I told Lisa we had to check it out. My shopping angels were good to me yesterday. In the shop, I found the piece de resistance, a Burberry trench coat that was priced for 1250 RMB, but it was on sale so I ended up paying less than that. Online, the Burberry trenches range from $700-$8,000 USD. I think I got a steal!

Walking, actually, skipping back home after my shopping excursion, I couldn't help but smile. China is what it is and there are certainly things that I don't like about this place, but the simplicity that comes from an afternoon with a friend, a good bargain, a blue sky, a cold (non Chinese) beer...man, that's why I travel, live abroad, and love my life.