Chapter 1 - Back in China

It was a scorching day. After 5 years, I forgot that Summer in China was very hot compared to the temperate climate back in Italy. Just as I exited the airport, a sudden, hot, humid wave of air made contact with my skin, leaving me drenched with sweat. I called the first cab I found and told the driver to take me to the address written in my phone.

The ride took a whole hour until I finally reached my destination. It was a small city surrounded by mountains on all sides which prevented many strong winds from reaching all year round. I wore a white t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts. I observed the house in front of me through my black sunglasses: it was big and old made of wood, just like in my memories. It was really quiet, the only sound I could hear were the nearby cicadas hidden in the foliage on the wall adjacent the building. Seeing as no one came out of the opened front door, I decided to enter the main door when, from my left side, I heard a woman's voice shouting:"Lin Rong!". I turned to the way the voice came from and when I saw the figure of an old woman dressed with flowery t-shirt and some simple long pants, I was pleasantly surprised and happily shouted back:"Grandma!!!!". She was my grandma, the grandma I had not seen in five whole years, the grandma which I grew up with and took care of me for six whole years .

I brought my suitcase upstairs, which was where my grandma moved from and left the first floor in rent to another family. We chatted for a little about what my life has been like till now. Seeing as I was doing fine and I was not the young childish girl from before, my grandma showed a relieved expression. I heard some footsteps approaching and I asked my grandma:"Are you expecting someone?" My grandma answered me:"Go out and look for yourself." Giving me a smile. I was confused but very curious. I went out and I saw a thin figure in front of me. It was as if a heavy weight got on my chest and my eyes started to hurt until tears fell down. An old man in his eighties was washing his face with an old, disheveled handkerchief and when he finished wiping off the sweat on his face, he saw me, gave a faint smile and said hi to me, not having noticed my tears as I was smiling in order to hide them. I answered "Grandpaaaa!" as I was feeling both nostalgic, happy and also sad because he had gotten much thinner since the last time I saw him. I spent the first two weeks getting acquainted with the place and the city again.

My grandparents woke up everyday at 5 AM, I wasn't used to it and, after the first few days, I decided to not accompany them to the city again in the morning. Sometimes me and my grandma would go and take a short walk by the river, other times I would stay at home and help clean the place(to which my grandma firmly refused at first but then agreed with my consistent nagging). I was happy and seeing the city after some time. I felt nostalgic and surprised because many things changed in the last five years and this city became bigger and better. I tried and ate lots of new food which I couldn't find in Europe, from the 1 dollar small stores on the streets to the high class expensive dinners at a 5 star hotel. Most of all, I loved the clothes. They were too cute and costed much much less than those from the West. Shopping was the thing I did the most these weeks (other than eating delicacies, of course!).