December 20, 2011
A while ago, in planning for my woman date with Maren, I had asked her if we could visit Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, to see the Christmas lights that are nationally famous. She shared my enthusiasm to see the lights, so tonight we boarded the TRAX right by her house in the Daybreak community of South Jordan, Utah.
This experience reminded me of the metro in Shanghai; Maren and I constantly chatted about China—there was always something that could be related to China or our experience there. In China, everyone stared at us, even the babies; it was rare to succeed in getting a Chinese baby to smile at us even if we made faces or did something silly—the baby would just stare at us like we were aliens. On the TRAX, there was a mother and baby on the other side of the car and I barely looked at the baby before he grinned at me. I made a face and he giggled. He was super cute; his smile warmed me.
I found myself constantly thinking and chatting about China; I apologized to Maren, but she assured me I wasn’t annoying her. She claimed that it was nice to have someone to talk to who knew what she was talking about when it came to China. In general, it was extremely pleasant to talk to Maren after three-ish weeks of separation; I missed that girl. Hanging out with her tonight reminded me of how well we get along and that she really is like my best friend. Because of all that we’ve gone through together, we can chat about anything and it isn’t awkward. It’s great!
It’s so strange seeing white people everywhere and understanding everything they say. When in China, I learned to zone out all the Chinese around me because I couldn’t understand it anyway; my ear was automatically trained to pick out English. I could pick out one person speaking English in a crowd of chattering Chinese. Therefore, sitting on the TRAX, exclusively surrounded by English, it was rather overwhelming.
As we walked around Temple Square and gazed at the beautiful Christmas lights, it was especially overwhelming since Temple Square was jam-packed with excited English-speakers. Once, we heard a couple speaking in British accents, and both of us immediately felt more comfortable since a British accent was more common in strangers in China than an American accent.
Aside from the language and the accents, another aspect that was overwhelming was all the blond hair and large “circle” eyes of Caucasians, especially in children. I became so accustomed to Chinese children that they look normal; Caucasian children look like foreigners to me. Their eyes are gigantic! I once asked Maren if a certain little boy’s eyes were only large to me because I’m accustomed to almond-shaped eyes, or if his eyes were large for a Caucasian. She thought the latter.
The lights were beautiful, as they always are. I haven’t had the chance to see the Lights at Temple Square for a couple of years, but their majesty is renowned. This year didn’t disappoint. My favorite spot, as it is any time of year, was the far side of the reflection pool, where the illuminated spires of the temple rise out of the darkness like beacons of all that is good and holy; candles floated in the dark water, creating a magical atmosphere; an white, illumined nativity rested in the center of the pool, its reflection melting into that of the temple, a sign that Christ is within the temple.
Before wandering into the Joseph Smith, Jr. Building to warm up, Maren and I took pictures with a giant Asian nativity (we love Asians!) and on the infamous bridal pedestal in front of the temple. Inside the JS building, we warmed up our hands while we gazed upon the gigantic, awe-inspiring, gorgeous white, gold, and silver Christmas tree in the lobby. This tree is easily the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, year after year.
Once we were satisfied with the lights, Maren searched on her phone’s GPS for the nearest Starbucks for hot cocoa, and it took us around an entire block before we discovered that there wasn’t a Starbucks anywhere to be found, though we did find the BlueLemon, a modern café.
I purchased a hazelnut hot cocoa and she ordered apple cider; both were absolutely delicious. As we boarded the TRAX to go home, we discussed how perfect our “date” was and how it was ideal for a real date, with boys: riding the train, visiting the Lights at Temple Square, drinking hot cocoa, walking around the clean, festively-decorated section of downtown in a light, romantic snow fall…. Next time, we plan on taking men with us.
Back at home, we changed into our lounge clothes and watched a few episodes of New Girl and Pushing Daisies, both of which are hilarious TV shows.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable day. I’m very grateful for the chance to spend time with her before returning home.
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