The End
I'm out. I'm done. No more.
And man, was it ever boring.
Two years here and so little to show for it, literary wise, that is. No real great adventure stories or culture clashing anecdotes of any real note. It was just another place, at another time. My experience in living with the Southern Chinese cannot be illustrated with one or two specific stories. It was not an event, as much as a chapter.
It was not a zany adventure. It was a day at work.
I did not give myself the opportunity to see the Great Wall or any of the other eventful things that people usually do when visiting a foreign country. That is because I wasn't visiting there, I was living there. It was all just one more day at the office for me. If I'd had a crapload of money and free time, sure I would have traveled all around, met new and interesting people and places and had oh so many adventures to tell of lost luggage and language barriers...but I didn't. I was too busy making sure I could pay my rent to go backpacking like a lost child.
And, as for the cultural stories, they are more frustrating and confusing then at all entertaining, so I've skipped over them. China is in this odd little place of transition where they are trying to find their own comfort zone between the new influx of Western Influence and the still well-beaten-into-them Mao's China Culture. These growing pains are slow and painful to watch in places like Guangdong, the Alabama of Asia. Understanding it is something that cannot be relayed easily. It something that must be experienced firsthand. Or, rather, having experienced it firsthand for the last two years, I advise that attempting to understand it should be avoided. It will bring you nothing but grief.
So, this blog is coming to a close with out any real value put to it after all. That's okay. While I have no "stories" per se to tell about China, I still gained an "overall" experience that has given me more understanding of human nature and world culture. It's not such a cracking good read now, but it will add more to any future observations that I put into print. That's got to be worth something.
The End.
And man, was it ever boring.
Two years here and so little to show for it, literary wise, that is. No real great adventure stories or culture clashing anecdotes of any real note. It was just another place, at another time. My experience in living with the Southern Chinese cannot be illustrated with one or two specific stories. It was not an event, as much as a chapter.
It was not a zany adventure. It was a day at work.
I did not give myself the opportunity to see the Great Wall or any of the other eventful things that people usually do when visiting a foreign country. That is because I wasn't visiting there, I was living there. It was all just one more day at the office for me. If I'd had a crapload of money and free time, sure I would have traveled all around, met new and interesting people and places and had oh so many adventures to tell of lost luggage and language barriers...but I didn't. I was too busy making sure I could pay my rent to go backpacking like a lost child.
And, as for the cultural stories, they are more frustrating and confusing then at all entertaining, so I've skipped over them. China is in this odd little place of transition where they are trying to find their own comfort zone between the new influx of Western Influence and the still well-beaten-into-them Mao's China Culture. These growing pains are slow and painful to watch in places like Guangdong, the Alabama of Asia. Understanding it is something that cannot be relayed easily. It something that must be experienced firsthand. Or, rather, having experienced it firsthand for the last two years, I advise that attempting to understand it should be avoided. It will bring you nothing but grief.
So, this blog is coming to a close with out any real value put to it after all. That's okay. While I have no "stories" per se to tell about China, I still gained an "overall" experience that has given me more understanding of human nature and world culture. It's not such a cracking good read now, but it will add more to any future observations that I put into print. That's got to be worth something.
The End.
posted by The Infinite Jester at 10:54 PM
<< Home