Flying a Long-Distance Relationship
A few days before I left China, my girlfriend and I went to the park to fly kites. We had two, one for her and one for me. When the wind picked up, I got a little too excited and let all of the string on my kite unravel. The end of the string wasn’t tied to the handle, though, so the kite flew away, crashed into the lake, and disappeared forever. There’s a metaphor in there somewhere.
But I didn’t leave China with the intent to disappear forever. We are still together and are willing to brave a long-distance relationship. My friends and family have been supportive of this decision and have usually just said, “That’s cool.” The support on my girlfriend’s end, however, has been much more sinister. If people don’t bluntly say, “So what can you do,” they offer negative advice like, “Long-distance relationships are too hard. They never work out. Why don’t you just find a Chinese boyfriend? You don’t want to go to the US. You won’t like it there.”
Sometimes, I wish I was still in China so I could tell these people to shut the hell up.
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Responses to “Flying a Long-Distance Relationship”
Comments RSS Feed – All CommentsJared Stein — 4 February 2010 @ 4:53 pm
“I got a little too excited and let all of the string on my kite unravel”
Mark — 6 February 2010 @ 12:26 am
Best of luck dude. While in China, I was in a long-distance relationship for about a year, though the distance was only about 2 hrs by train instead of 15 hrs by plane. Ultimately it didn’t work out, though not because of the distance, though the distance didn’t help either. I have a buddy who steadily dated a girl in China for 5 years, so it’s possible, but it’s a challenge no doubt. Screw the haters, go with what you both think is right.
Kali — 19 February 2010 @ 12:04 am
Interesting. I found the Chinese I spoke to very supportive of long distance relationships. Maybe they have a different opinion when those in the relationship are actually from different countries and not just living in different countries for a while. All the best to you and Sarah!
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