It’s one thing to just travel to China, hit the popular tourist attractions. and then be on your way. However, to actually live in this insane country and fully immerse oneself in this ancient culture and live as the locals do is a completely different experience.

Pictures and words will never be able to even scratch the surface of how foreign, different and crazy this country truly is. You learn to appreciate things that you never would have thought to before such as: going to the bathroom in a western-styled toilet, actually finding Oreo cookies or Snickers bars at the store or thinking of McDonald’s as a delicacy when all other local food options sound unbearable. You begin to think that paying over 25 RMB ($4 USD) for most things is too expensive. Culture shock slaps you in the face hard, but not as hard as those random whiffs of putrid food, trash and unknown smells you get when walking down the same streets that kids just went to the bathroom on. You play charades every time you try to talk to a local and feel like an idiot because you can’t speak the language of their country. You also have a 98 percent chance of getting hit by a vehicle every time you go outside. China is absolutely mad, but if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that everyone should live in China at least once in his or her life.

In all honestly, most people don’t like China when they first arrive and once you get here it’s easy to see why. China isn’t comfortable and it sure as hell isn’t easy to navigate through. If there were one word to describe life here, it would be “inconvenient.” Everything you do requires extra effort, especially if you’re a foreigner. Going to the bank or supermarket becomes a huge ordeal and even just using the bathroom requires some extra leg muscle and balance.

You will change. Inevitably, you will not return home as the same person you were before you lived in China. You have seen and experienced life across the world, in a place as bonkers as China. People smoke cigarettes everywhere and anywhere (restaurants and trains included), the streets are filthy, they eat every single part of the animal, there's absolutely no such thing as personal space, their driving is unreal and everything just basically seems like organized chaos. As bizarre as it sounds, you get used to all of that and more. It's their way of life. You just need to embrace it and appreciate it. It's amazing the growth that takes place within us when not only traveling or living in a foreign country, but in a place as crazy foreign as China. I became proficient in charades, became more assertive, gained far more self confidence and let loose of the adventurous person inside of me.

If China is this different and this inconvenient, then why should anyone leave the comforts of America for this?

Life isn’t about being comfortable. It’s about stepping out of your comfort zone and running far away from it. It’s about stretching your limits, facing your fears and consistently growing into a new person.

You won’t understand the language and most people won’t be able to understand you. When walking down the street, you won't have a clue as to what the signs say. Things will go wrong time and time again, but you remain optimistic because you have no other choice. You’ll be pushed and shoved, squished in between people on the metro or be face to face with someone on the bus. Don’t take it personal and don’t feel bad. It’s their way of life. The people are some of the nicest and most helpful you will ever meet in entire your life. Being a foreigner, you’ll repeatedly get lost, but there’s always a kind Chinese person willing to help whether or not you two can speak the same language. Diversity isn’t abundant in China, so expect to get your picture taken on a daily basis by the locals. You’ll have some of the best food in your life (no noodles or rice back in the states will ever compare), as well as some unconventional options like scorpions on a stick or chicken feet. Your chopstick skills will go from absolute novice to well advanced. You will experience not only the massive city life that Shanghai or Beijing hold, but also the otherworldly countryside of Yangshuo County or the mountains of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Additionally, walking across the Great Wall of China is an incredibly underrated experience that I'm still in denial about.

China has it all. It’s a completely different world that will never be fully understood by us foreigners. I had my preconceptions about this country before I came here, I was hit hard by culture shock when I arrived, but I was crying about leaving when my time was up.

It didn't feel like I was leaving my new home for what might be forever. It didn't seem real that I was about to return to my old life as a completely different person. I boarded the plane for my 10-hour flight back to America and upon my arrival to San Francisco a new kind of culture shock charged at me: seeing non-Asian babies for the first time in months, using a Western-styled toilets, being able to flush the toilet paper, understanding what other people are saying and realizing that my own words weren’t anonymous anymore because people around me could actually understand what’s coming out of my mouth.

I have seen things that my mind wouldn't have been able to imagine prior, done things that my courage wouldn't have previously allowed me to and have transformed. You don't realize it when you're there and living day to day life, but when you look back and see where you were at the beginning of your China endeavor, the change is evident. You will return home more open minded, more optimistic and far more appreciative. Living in China will have an everlasting impact on your mind and lifestyle and that’s what makes living in a country of inconvenient, organized chaos worth it.