The Opera Box: A Cheap Flight

It's such a heartbreak when I discover that someone whom I've held with such high regard turns out to be nowhere near what expected. What am I supposed to do after I take them off of my pedestal? I don't bare to forever excommunicate them, I'm way too sentimental and definitely a victim to nostalgia. Gosh I give people too much credit, I completely set myself up.

Anyway, I was Google Earthing my hometown Qingdao today, marking out my and my family's residences, and other particular locations of my childhood. Despite the changes the city has undergone, I was able to pinpoint all the places I was looking for. With each new/old discovery, I grew a little more emotional. Each time I marked a location, the memories pertaining to those locations flooded back. I saw myself playing with childhood friends, visiting family members, going to school, bathing at the beach, squandering throughout the street markets and shopping complexes, retracing my bold steps as a kid who roamed freely around town without a care.
Around every corner the Birdseye-view offered click-able taps that offered magnificent photos of the new and old Qingdao. Most of them tastefully captured the essence of the city with depictions of the old colonial architecture that survived the gentrification. For the most part, the city I knew as a child stayed relatively intact. I was fortunate that the area I used to live at is protected by the government under it's historic preservation mandates. You can walk for hours through the intersections, or private neighborhoods, one would have difficulty believing that they are in a city in China. Aside from the apartment buildings, almost all residences are villa/courtyards of late 1800s German design. However, for some parts it was more difficult to find due to a new highway that was built, which sadly required the demolition of some buildings almost exactly by my home that were very close to the heart. Having all of my immediate family living there, I remember living in some of these beautiful and spacious houses. Even as a child, I was able to appreciate the coziness of staying in these homes built with such care. Although sometimes I've dreaded visiting these places, I am appreciative that my father did force me to spend time with the family. A property of similar caliber would undoubtedly start from a minimum five million, and yet to this day these stately homes are occupied by simple, everyday Qingdao Ren...most of which are retirees spending their days tending to their gardens and playing Chinese chess with their shared occupants in the courtyard.
A city of a considerably large financial and commercial district, with both heavily populated and densely spread villas, mountain-side parks, dream-like homes built for the masses, endless beaches, and historical landmarks all harmoniously coexisting with each other in perfect rhythm. I feel truly blessed to be born in such a romantic, and memorable setting. Google Earth is definitely a good tool.
Having become this emotional just by browsing a map-like image of my hometown, I don't think I can possibly revisit without bringing a close friend with me for emotional support. Can't have the family thinking I've become some kind of six foot, two hundred pound EmoCryBaby. Or as they call it in QD..Ban Tai!