Skip to content
  • Epic Quest
  • Contact Me!
  • About Me
Instagram YouTube Facebook
Menu

Writer. Traveler. Tea Drinker.

Writer. Traveler. Tea Drinker. Doing all three in China
Instagram YouTube Facebook
  • Epic Quest
  • Contact Me!
  • About Me
Hit enter to search or esc to close
Home  >  Traveling  >  Dealing with Tragedy Abroad
Posted inTraveling

Dealing with Tragedy Abroad

Posted By Becky Ances Posted on April 16, 2013
Please install Travelera Share Buttons plugin

7158516663_e75a0de9f1_z“Boston Mayhem”

That was the title on my Google homepage at 6:30 am tuesday morning (China time). Normally I would ignore such a outlandish title, assuming it had to do with Red Sox or some political thing, but this headline was accompanied with a picture of a building and flames. I clicked through and read the article.
Boston is my city, MY city. I went to school there for 4 years, and then for the following 10 years I made monthly trips there. It’s the city that I never need a map yet I always know where I’m going, it’s the place that I walked across Back Bay at 1 am in a snowstorm just to get a slushy, it’s the place that I know which dilapidated building is actually hiding a delicious hole-in-the-wall restaurant. I don’t call many places home, but Boston is one of them.
So, when I read the news, followed by all the updates in Facebook, I started to get sad, and mad. Like, really, really mad.
I’m not an overly emotional person. When 9/11 happened sure I was sad, but I didn’t cry, I didn’t look to others for comfort, I didn’t stay by the news listening to all the updates. In fact, with most major tragedies such as earthquakes and shootings I’m saddened, of course, but I just deal with it. I guess I’m a tad jaded, or cold-hearted, like that.
But this whole Boston thing, well something was different. I had to run off to class (where my poor students had to deal with “not taking any shit today” Becky) but I couldn’t concentrate. Today’s classes we were playing games, and I kept messing up the team order, giving points to the wrong students and generally just made a mess of things. For instance, I was going to divide them up into 3 teams, yet someone I ended up with 7. Not even sure how that happened.
I kept thinking of home, of Boston, and of old friends. And here is the strangest part of all. I suddenly missed people in America. Like, a lot. Which is a very strange thing for me. I just wanted to be around people who understood how I felt. Everyone in China was really nice to me all day. All my students had heard about it and my friends in Hangzhou talked to me a lot in the morning, trying to understand it all. But they didn’t live in Boston. They’ve never stood in Copley Square watching the marathon runners complete the race and fall down exhausted. They’ve never cheered on the guy running in the clown suit, or looked in pain at the runners with bleeding nipples.
But I have, and for the bombing to have happened there, in MY city, at MY marathon, well it really hit me in a weird way. Even if I was in America there’s nothing I could do. I can’t donate blood and as I lived outside the city I couldn’t offer physical assistance or a couch or something to those stranded. But I guess it would have been nice to be around people who understood how I felt.
That’s the nature of traveling, giving up the old and familiar for the new and uncertain. And that’s why I love traveling. But on some days I miss the places I’ve been and the people I’ve known. Today is one of those days.
Boston Photo Credit

Tags: america bombing boston missing home tragedy
Previous Article My Chinese Name: 龙小冰
Next Article My "Darling" Students

Related Posts

I Entered a Puzzle Competition! (You can make fun of me all you want.)

I still have a few weeks of summer holiday left, and since I’m stuck in Xiamen, I decided to try to make a staycation out of it. You know, basically trying to do as many new activities and eating at as many different restaurants as I can. So why not

Read More about I Entered a Puzzle Competition! (You can make fun of me all you want.)
Please install Travelera Share Buttons plugin

Another Chinese Milestone

Despite having a very long summer holiday (about 12 weeks–Best. Job, Ever.) I can’t really go anywhere. International travel is basically impossible and domestic travel is going to be CRAZY crowded. Also my school asked us to not travel outside the province and even if we go somewhere close there

Read More about Another Chinese Milestone
Please install Travelera Share Buttons plugin

4 Comments

  1. Eileen
    April 16, 2013 at 7:39 am

    I can relate to you so much right now. Boston has been my city since I was a kid. I had relatives living there. It is the city that shaped me who I am today. I had the pleasure to show my h ncity a couple of years ago. Today, I miss Boston and the life I had now I miss it more than per usual. At first, I was sad and then I got irratated, irrational, pissed off. What pains me is that I have nobody in Shanghai. Nobody knows I am from the very city or what is going on in my head. Today, I am truly alone. I hope your friends are okay and everything is fine with you.

    Reply
  2. Becky
    April 16, 2013 at 7:55 pm

    I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who was irrationally pissed off! And while it’s small comfort, I think it is SOME comfort to know that someone nearby-ish actually does understand. At least theirs two of us feeling sad/mad and alone on the east coast of China.

    Reply
  3. Ashley
    April 17, 2013 at 7:03 pm

    Traveling and living abroad can be hard sometimes. :/ Prayers for your city!

    Reply
  4. Eileen黃愛玲
    April 19, 2013 at 7:32 am

    I couldn’t agree more, Becky.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Recent Posts

  • What School is Like in China Right Now (Fall 2020)
  • I Won “Favorite Teacher!”
  • I Entered a Puzzle Competition! (You can make fun of me all you want.)
  • What is the Situation in China Like Now?
  • Painting a Chinese Dragon

Archives

Categories

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Recent Posts

  • What School is Like in China Right Now (Fall 2020) Becky Ances October 9, 2020
  • I Won “Favorite Teacher!” Becky Ances September 21, 2020
  • I Entered a Puzzle Competition! (You can make fun of me all you want.) Becky Ances September 10, 2020
  • Popular
  • Recent
  • The Swiss Family Robinson are a Bunch of Jerks December 11, 2009
  • Making it Official: My Chinese Boyfriend December 7, 2012
  • Good Chinese Wife Review and a Chance to Win a Free Book!! July 27, 2014
  • 10 Signs You've Lived in China a Long Time March 29, 2014
  • What School is Like in China Right Now (Fall 2020) October 9, 2020
  • I Won “Favorite Teacher!” September 21, 2020
  • I Entered a Puzzle Competition! (You can make fun of me all you want.) September 10, 2020
  • What is the Situation in China Like Now? July 30, 2020

Subscribe Now to Our Newsletter, It’s Free!

Get the best content delivered straight into your inbox!

Facebook Twitter Google+

About

I’m an American who has been living in China for more than a decade! This is my blog where I muse about all things China. Please also check out my YouTube channel “Badminton Becky” and my other badminton blog at www.badmintonbecky.com

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • What School is Like in China Right Now (Fall 2020) October 9, 2020
  • I Won “Favorite Teacher!” September 21, 2020
  • I Entered a Puzzle Competition! (You can make fun of me all you want.) September 10, 2020
© Copyright 2017. Theme by BloomPixel.