After three months.

I have been in China for three months now. I have been fairly lazy about writing blogs. I have written several articles that I will post over the next few weeks. Some of them have been written for the company I work for and are fairly toned down when compared with my usual or at least often sardonic tone.

Today is my last day of work at HHS Center. I have decided to teach English instead. For almost half the amount of work I can make Double what I can make at HHS. I do not have a job yet but I am told that it will not be difficult to find one. Actually I have an offer in Xi'an but the pay is only mediocre. I really liked the guy who runs the place. He is a Frenchman who has been in China for 9 years.

I guess I will post the upcoming blogs in Chronological order. Today I will put up two short ones.

The first is one that I wrote for the HHS website. HHS tries to portray a sweetness and light image of the program. All of my blogs for them are attempts to show a more realistic difficult but positive side of China. I wrote the second post immediately after the first because I had to water down my feeling and experience so much during the first post.

I have been traveling for years, for my whole life in a way. Like so many Americans I moved a lot when I was younger. As my mother went to school and looked for work and a good place to raise children my sister and I came along for the ride. Due to moving, or some other strange circumstance, I was constantly changing schools until high school. I learned that moving - traveling - is largely about people. A move across town can be almost as large of a move as to a new country, if they speak the same language and have similar cultural heritage.

A friend asked me the other day, “Why do westerners like to travel so much?” This was after a long discussion about world politics and American vs. Chinese views on foreign affairs. Having been in China for only 3 weeks my mind was (is) still opened to wonder, and thoroughly confused. This openness is why a travel. At the time however I could only think of superficial reasons for travel, the reasons I had thought of before. None of those reasons seemed adequate. The question was like a koan. It has been like a koan to be sure. I have asked myself many times in the past 10 years, “I love this place, I love these people. Why not stay?” In the past few days, every time my mind had a chance to rest the question comes back. This time it was not just for me, but for my people. “Why do ‘Westerners’ like to travel so much?” I have come up with so many new answers; but none of the answers have been as profound as the openness I felt on the subway, about an hour after she asked me that question. Going home, looking around, and wondering “Who am I, and what the hell am I doing here?”

China is an interesting place.

I mean, it’s on the other side of the world, and everybody walks around upside down! Everything is backwards... They drive the wrong way on one way streets, constantly weaving around traffic, and then they park on the side walk. That’s why I don’t drive. I take the subway to work. When I get on the subway someone behind me will always think there is room for one more person. I have learned here in China how much people can squish. The Chinese concept of personal space is very interesting. I have never been so close to people I don’t know before. On top of all that everyone speaks gibberish. No one knows how to talk properly and their writing is just as bad, or worse. They don’t even know the alphabet! Trying to buy food is nearly impossible. I go into a restaurant and point at something on the menu. Then they start with their nonsense. Eventually they realize that I don’t speak gibberish and they bring me some food. The food is OK, I guess. Chicken necks and bugs are not my idea of a good meal, but everyone is starving here and my only other option is rice.

I don’t want to seem ungrateful.

I am happy to be here...

After all…

I could be in Africa.