I had plans. I was going to be 6’2″ so that I could stand out – but not too much. 6’2″ is the perfect height for a tennis player. My dad told me that. I was going to go pro. Freshman year of high school I stopped growing at 5’9″. No matter how much I willed myself to get taller (I didn’t drink coffee), I was condemned to be average. I stopped playing tennis. Then a new thought, a new hope: if I couldn’t get taller, I would go to a place where people were shorter than me. I heard that people felt taller in Asia. My twin brother felt huge in Japan.

After two weeks in China, my plans had been thwarted. Guys were taller than I expected and girls tended to wear four inch heels (not an exaggeration). I was just taller than average, still not a standout. Fate had defeated me, but all was not lost.

In Jishou it appears the students’ and officials’ main contact with the West comes through Hollywood. Enter the July Fourth opening banquet. Arianna was compared to a famous Chinese singer, Reuben a handsome young man (later to be called an English gentleman). The president of the college was thrilled to meet me because I apparently looked like Leonardo DiCaprio from Titanic. “Your name should be Jack, not Nick” he told me. A few days later Cameron would be compared to Hugh Jackman from X-Men.

It’s probable Leo would be offended by the comparison, but no one has to tell him.  So maybe I’m not tall, but I’m finally ok with that – my heart will go on.

-Nick