Seeing Gray

I can hardly believe I've been in China again for almost another month! It certainly hasn't been like what I expected, but that's okay. The honeymoon with this country is over. But I feel like I'm becoming much more engrained in this culture. I can understand quite a bit more Chinese, which helps connect me with people. And the longer I'm here, the more I feel that China, like all countries, has many things wrong and right with it. Mostly there's a whole lot of gray. Sometimes I really can't see the world in black and white anymore.

You walk around the world's most populous country and are amazed at the Chinese people's resourcefulness, stamina, and courage. They are survivors--especially anybody over the age of 40. Survivors of war, famine, floods, earthquakes, fires, long periods of no education... Those stories are in the eyes of the 65 year old woman sweeping the street who probably survived two famines. Those stories are in the eyes of the 40 year old man who didn't receive any education because schools had been shuttered for 10 years when he was young. Those stories are in the eyes of my 20 year old student whose village was swept away by a flood, or the student who feels she must build a "strong motherland" today to make up for all those "lost" years of her parents and grandparents.

So now China is developing at break-neck speed as it tries to shed its past. (There is no economic crisis here). But at what cost? The majority of my students didn't grow up with their parents, because their mom and dad were working at factories in the coastal cities. And people are still only supposed to have one child. Thus, there are millions of more boys than girls. My province, for example, has one of the most skewed gender balances in China. To every 100 girls born, there are 140 boys. Multiply that by thousands, and you can tell there will be problems, which are already being noticed now.

And even though China seems to be quite the capitalist hot-spot, it is entirely still communist, politically and socially. I'm reminded of that, because the 60th anniversary of "New China" (communist China), will be celebrated next week. Beijing will have the largest parade, mostly consisting of thousands of soldiers and military equipment. The parade is supposed to be an even bigger feat than the opening of the Beijing Olympics. Is that even possible?

That's all you can read about in the China Daily newspaper here. There are always tons of articles about the big show. People are extremely proud. Take for example, a quote from a soldier who happens to be from our province and has been training for months for the big day. "The wishes in our hearts to sacrifice for our motherland enable us to endure the hardship," said Gao Teng, a machine-gun toting soldier from Jiangxi province.

I think his quote is fitting for most Chinese. They are willing to endure most any hardship and sacrifice most anything, as long as it is for Chinese unity and their country.

Today during one of my classes, several students had to leave early to attend a big ceremony to take the oath for joining the Communist Party. It is a privilege to be asked to join. You must be smart, ambitious, patriotic, loyal, and have the "correct" ideology. And once you are in, you are pretty much set for life. Your social status and job security are just about guaranteed forever. So as they filed out of my classroom to take their oath, a part of my heart sank. Once students join the Party, they are usually less reachable for Him. But it's reassuring that He still remembers and love them, even if their loyalty is elsewhere.

That's enough stories to regale you with for now! More has happened, but perhaps I'll save it for another post. Things are well here. Your thoughts are still always appreciated!