Fri, 22 Dec 2000
Well, only 3 days til Christmas and I am feeling a mixture of excitement and
apathy. A weird (if not impossible) mixture I know, but in some ways I am
feeling that good Christmas spirit but in some ways this Christmas is way
uneventful. We were all going to rent a hotel room and party the night away
(an untraditional, yet fun celebration) but Tomas's mom decided that she
wanted to spend Christmas with her son (and since she's sososo rich, she can
do that) so Tomas and Abby will be spending Christmas with her, and the rest
of us are too poor to afford a room on our own (well not actually poor, but
saving our big bucks for traveling). So we'll be spending Christmas in our
lame-o dorm. At least I have a giant package (being hidden underneath Adam's
bed for safe keeping) from my family waiting for me. That will be fun to
open. Tomorrow we are having a celebration with our Chinese friends (similar
to our Thanksgiving party). That should be nice.
Last week my language partner and I spent 5 hours at a resturaunt talking
about Chinese issues. It was so nice. We talked about government and
politics mostly (suprise suprise). She told me that a government cannot tell
the citizens the true things the government does or else they won't be able
to effectively govern. I said HER country's government can't tell the truth
and remain in power but MINE can (within reason obviously). She was amazed
that I thought this way. She said "You mean, everything your government says
is the truth?!" Basically. I was trying to explain how the media's
involvement made it pretty much impossible for them to lie to us. And she
asked about other countries too. And I said yeah, basically most governments
tell the truth, and she thought this way interesting. But she also told me
that the American government does indeed lie to us all the time, her
government told her so. :) We also discussed the difference between freedom
of opinion in our countries. She was shocked to see that we could openly
criticize the government and that even newspapers will print things
negatively about the government. She said this is one things that could most
definately not happen in China. (***Editor's Note: I was not so naive as to
say our government is perfect, etc. and they don't tell us things that
concern National Security, but that by in large I believe our government is
honest)
We also talked alot about Tiananmen. There are lots of things that she wants
to know about it. Some of the things they have been told are either
incorrect or skewed, and they aren't told lots of things at all. We were
talking about the "bad people" of the Tiananmen movement, and after a few
mintues I realized we were talking about different people. I was talking
about some of the outsiders that became too fiesty and regretably did things
to harm some of the PLA, and she was talking about the leaders of the
movement, the ones at the center of everything. So I explained that we don't
think these people did anything wrong and that is why they are living in
America now. We are protecting them from the Chinese government. She was
blown away by this because she has always thought that these were the bad
people (that's what she has always been told). It was really interesting to
hear the Chinese view on the incident. This led to a small discussion about
Falun Gong and cults and I was explaining the difference between the Branch
Davidians and the action our government took, and the Falun Gong and the way
the Chinese government has treated them. Needless to say this was definately
a good revelation for her, as well as me. The more I defend my government
and the things we do, the more I feel I can talk about these things
accurately.
We then got to talking about each other's perceptions and thoughts. SHe told
me that alot of the things she tells me is to try and get me to see that her
government (and country) are good. But she is afraid that the more she tells
me the more I think the Government and her counrty is bad. For her, she
cannot seperate the two. The government cannot be seperated from her country
and people. This sometimes is problematic for me because there are many
things I want to say about the government, but I know she will interpret
them as bad things about the Chinese people. I also don't want to seem like
I am being some flag waver and saying the US is the best country in the
world (even though I think it is :) I just want to give her my opinions and
let her deal with them as she feels she should. I am obviously some wise
know it all, but then neither is she. I think that we both can give good
judgements of our own countries. She also has shown me some of the good
things the government does. I told her that I will never love the Communist
Party and that it is against my beliefs to even say that their government is
as viable as ours, but I can see that the government is not all bad. They do
do alot of good things for the people and they do try to do good things
(albeit they do lots of not so good things) and she has made me become more
open-minded about it. I am not so quick to condemn something the government
does without asking lots of questions. I think we are the perfect
conversation partner match. We are very alike in many ways, and she even
jokes that I am more like a typical Chinese person than a typical American!
We both share some really insightful views.
And finally for all of you who have suffered through my political thoughtful
babble....in honor of everyone's favorite Hoosier DAVID LETTERMAN I have
come up with a Top Ten List for the season!
Top Ten Signs You've Been in China Too Long:
10. You can walk down the street holding hands with a person of the same sex
and not feel like a giant weirdo!
9. The words "OSHA" and "Health Department" make you laugh hysterically.
8. You begin to forget simple English words and instead substitute them for
Chinese words.
7. "Chinglish" is a perfectly understandable language to you.
6. You can sit in the backseat of a taxi going down the wrong side of the
road 100mph and not even feel the least bit scared.
5. You no longer spaz when you see a roach, and instead move with a casual
yet cat-like reflex to grab the nearest heavy object to smash it.
4. You can tell the difference between a "nice" squat toilet and a "bad"
one.
3. You think that wearing 3 layers of clothes at all times is natural.
2. You bargain for the equivalent of US 25 cents.
AND THE NUMBER ONE SIGN YOU'VE BEEN IN CHINA TOO LONG:
You freak out and stare harder than any Chinese person when you see a
foreigner out in public!!!!
Ok, that's all for this edition of the life and times of Lindsay, Happy
Holidays!!!!