I decided to pack up my bags and head to China. Not for a week, not for a month, but for a year or longer. In fact the term is probably ‘indefinitely’, although that could mean anything from 6 months to 6 years.
China is a land of contrast – great wealth and great poverty, an abundance of natural resources and encroaching deserts, great dams and water shortages, a land of immeasurable beauty as well as polluted rivers and skies.
I have decided to give up blue skies and clean air and everything known to me to take a plunge into the unknown.
Some people think I must be crazy.
Some people have been very encouraging. (Thanks Damon, thanks Bridget.)
Who can understand that at my age I could give up a comfortable life, a secure position with a government agency, a beautiful house in a nice location (albeit rented), good friends (some very close) and all those things we get so used to and eventually take for granted? A good bottle of wine, uncrowded public spaces & transport, relatively empty roads and beaches, green leafy suburbs with birds and possums in the trees. You can imagine the rest.
China is crowded. It’s dirty. It’s loud. There’s much less privacy. I’m going to teach English at a top provincial university (I must be crazy). I have never taught English before, let alone to a bunch of young, probably mostly recalcitrant and disinterested Chinese students.
So why take such a radical step? There are many reasons. Of course first and foremost there is Li Pin. I already had some vague ideas of adventure in China before I went there in May ’07, but Pin has been a catalyst. Without her I would have had the opportunity to procrastinate and would probably still not have any concrete plans to make the move.
It’s not the first time I’ve made a big move, although the others all involved Europe. I feel like I’ve been in Australia long enough – this last stretch 16 years now. My life seems to be going through cycles – the first 13 years in Australia, another 13 in Germany, an interim period of 6 years in Asia and Europe and 16 years in Australia. And now?
How long will I last in China? I know some friends have grave doubts but I’ve always considered myself a world citizen, i.e. the world is my home and I can make myself comfortable just about anywhere. This doesn’t mean transporting my current way of life to China and making the ‘best of it’ over there. No, it means becoming fluent in the language, learning China’s history and culture, understanding the Chinese psyche - essentially becoming an ‘honorary Chinese’. You are right, this is a very ambitious goal and will take quite some time. Maybe I’ll only be able to realise one or two aspects of these dreams, like learn the language. But that would at least be something.
China is a land of contrast – great wealth and great poverty, an abundance of natural resources and encroaching deserts, great dams and water shortages, a land of immeasurable beauty as well as polluted rivers and skies.
I have decided to give up blue skies and clean air and everything known to me to take a plunge into the unknown.
Some people think I must be crazy.
Some people have been very encouraging. (Thanks Damon, thanks Bridget.)
Who can understand that at my age I could give up a comfortable life, a secure position with a government agency, a beautiful house in a nice location (albeit rented), good friends (some very close) and all those things we get so used to and eventually take for granted? A good bottle of wine, uncrowded public spaces & transport, relatively empty roads and beaches, green leafy suburbs with birds and possums in the trees. You can imagine the rest.
China is crowded. It’s dirty. It’s loud. There’s much less privacy. I’m going to teach English at a top provincial university (I must be crazy). I have never taught English before, let alone to a bunch of young, probably mostly recalcitrant and disinterested Chinese students.
So why take such a radical step? There are many reasons. Of course first and foremost there is Li Pin. I already had some vague ideas of adventure in China before I went there in May ’07, but Pin has been a catalyst. Without her I would have had the opportunity to procrastinate and would probably still not have any concrete plans to make the move.It’s not the first time I’ve made a big move, although the others all involved Europe. I feel like I’ve been in Australia long enough – this last stretch 16 years now. My life seems to be going through cycles – the first 13 years in Australia, another 13 in Germany, an interim period of 6 years in Asia and Europe and 16 years in Australia. And now?
How long will I last in China? I know some friends have grave doubts but I’ve always considered myself a world citizen, i.e. the world is my home and I can make myself comfortable just about anywhere. This doesn’t mean transporting my current way of life to China and making the ‘best of it’ over there. No, it means becoming fluent in the language, learning China’s history and culture, understanding the Chinese psyche - essentially becoming an ‘honorary Chinese’. You are right, this is a very ambitious goal and will take quite some time. Maybe I’ll only be able to realise one or two aspects of these dreams, like learn the language. But that would at least be something.
2 comments:
but its a hell of a lot more interesting than living in australia [though the change in government makes it slightly more bearable]. it's a great leap [forward?!] that one should never think that they are too old or too young to take. donna.
Hi Steven,
I'll be interested to see how often the blog gets updated. TAFE teachers report that students in China play computer games all night and then fall asleep in class.
Best wishes for your trip!
John H (AASB editor/proofreader part-time)
Post a Comment