Coming full circle – an old friend in Shanghai

Catching up with a very good friend (and enjoying hot pot – hence the bibs)

Last Friday my roommate when I first moved to Shanghai was back in town for 24 hours.  He had spent the last 6 weeks in Xi’an at a teacher training program and right before heading back to the US we had the opportunity to meet up for a very late dinner.

C was the impetus for why I moved to Shanghai in the first place.  We’ve known each other for over 10 years.  He was the one who put it into my head that teaching English in another country was a real possibility.  We explored Shanghai together before either one of us spoke any Chinese and stumbled through those first weeks as we found our place in this city.  The last time I had seen him was two years ago when he had been back once again for another learning opportunity.

We had dinner, tried to catch up on the many things that have happened over the last two years and reminisced about “our Shanghai” of six years ago.  In the last six years Shanghai has changed so much.  From four subway lines to 14, from 2 airport terminals to 4.  The city has become more international and also more generic – as they have knocked down or renovated many of the places that we used to go.  One that we especially mentioned is the original Wujiang Road where we first had dumplings.

It’s not just the city that has changed – we both aren’t the same either.  C went through more of a career change than I – now he’s teaching Chinese to grade school students.  I’ve gotten married and worked on projects all over Asia Pacific.  Both of us speak Chinese now and our perspective on the world has evolved as we have seen more.  We shared a parallel path for a while and now have forked into different directions.

No matter what path I take in the future, C is a friend I want to keep.  We may live a world apart for the time being, but if he ever says he has another “Great idea” – I’d be inclined to listen very carefully.  I am very happy we got to connect again in Shanghai this summer.

What friend do you wish was in town more often?  How do you stay in touch with people who at different points support you?  What’s the strangest idea that you’ve heard – and then done – because of a friend?