the proof

Chinese often ask if we're acclimated to living here, if we've settled into Chengdu. It's a regular question in conversations with locals. They ask, 习惯了吗? and I always say yes.

I say yes, that we appreciate the pace of life and that we love the spicy food. I feel like this is a valid response – if a bit safe and over-simplified – and I mean it when I say it. But then today we went and had ourselves a moment that proved I am absolutely telling the truth.

It went like this... We walked out of the house. We saw the blue sky. We both gasped and pointed, and then we took an extra-long walk because the sky was blue and the air was clear and we know this is a gift you cannot buy.

We know this because we have lived in Chengdu long enough to know things like this.

In other words, we've acclimated.