Disney conjures up all sorts of good tingly feelings whether you are young, old or ancient. Its Epcot park provides the amazing ability to travel, view and eat one’s way around the world in a fraction of the amount of time it would really take! So I am here to say there is a real Epcot, as my friend from “France” pointed out today, and we live in it!
Our first year in China had us living approximately one mile from the girls’ school in a house owned by a Chinese landlord. We had our share of issues in that house and dealing with the landlord but we also felt imprisoned by a large, eight-lane road with a freakishingly intimidating intersection that stood between us and all the necessity stores and school. It’s one of those roads that unless you want to become a hood ornament or rickshaw road kill you don’t cross it or at least don’t let the girls cross it. So we had to find a way to rid ourselves of the housing warden and break free of the prison walls.
Thus we discovered “Epcot” a mere mile away. It’s a wonderful land of America, Spain, Italy and France to name a few. Housing choices, that is. Someone thought it would be satisfying for Expats to style the houses and their street names after various countries. And you know what? How smart they were!
Of course coming to China we had envisioned living in either city skyscrapers or temple-like villas growing rice out our front door. It’s funny what thoughts come to mind for a far-away land when the truth is, its not anywhere as odd as you’d imagine. So here we now live in the Americas, except in China. Huh? I have to say the Americans are a really functional sort of people when it comes to floor plans and although we tried to be different the first year, we found there is no place like “home”.
What makes it more like Epcot is the fact that not only is the school a stone’s throw away, the distance it would take from Space Mountain to Cinderella’s castle gets you to restaurants that cover as many countries or more. I can count at least six country menus on one street alone, our favorite being Catina Agave. A Mexican wonder of marvelous margaritas and fajitas like no others. You can ask my hips and post-morning swollen ankles to prove it!
So we ventured from America to China and back to America again - in China. The only other place in this world you can do that? Epcot. Thank you, Walt Disney, and thank you smart Chinese businessman and developer.
God Bless America!
No comments:
Post a Comment