I thought about using "Going home" as the title for this Blog, but decided that's not accurate. (Yeah, I am a scientist.) My home is where I am, here, in paradise.
So, it's not "going home," not in English anyway. I then realized that there is not simple English for "娘家." That's what I meant, I am going back to my parents' home, which is no longer mine.
I had a nice get-together with some friends yesterday, and told them my stories of growing up in China (how I decided to go to the countryside on my own, how I got into college, graduate school, and how I ended up in the U.S.). To this couple, who grew up in NYC, my stories are so original that they suggested that I should write a book about them. Well, I know my limitation: I can do English editing well for my colleagues, but that's all I am good at in terms of English writing.
Still, I am debating whether or not to write my unique stories, at least for my son, who knows so little about his mom's past. Since he doesn't read Chinese, I have to write it in English for his sake.
I may start with "Experimental universal health care system in China." No, I am not talking about 50 years from now, 2012. I am talking about 50 years EARLIER, when I grew up in Hangzhou in the 1960s and 1970s. Yes, the copay for a visit to a hospital was 10c (in RMB). Now, more than 50 years later, I live in the US and the thing I worry most about is health care for my near future, when I leave my current job to become a freelancer...