The Human Condition

This blog, I'm afraid, isn't quite so reader friendly. So, please read it at your own risk. :(

"Life is cheap. Time is money."

I think it's time to talk about this. This is a phrase the Chinese have coined for their very own way of life over here. This is what the CHINESE will tell you. There are many things that we (Allen and I) see here everyday that bring this phrase to the fore front of our minds.

Recently, President Bush made some statements about China's LACK of Human Rights efforts. Regardless of my or anyone else's political beliefs or views about this subject, I think many people should understand that 1) there are always two sides to every story and 2) the President of the US (whomever he/she may be) sees a lot more than the average "Joe", thus establishing a thread of truth to what they say about it. NOT being President, I can't imagine what images the President has been shown in regards to this subject to spur him to even broach the topic in the public's eye. However, living here and just seeing what I have seen in the few weeks I have been here, I have to admit that the statements made by him (however ill timed), may have some thread of truth and even some genuine concern behind them. But, this really isn't about politics, as you will soon learn. It's just...food for thought for some of you and something that might come to mind in the next few paragraphs.

I understand that whatever I have to say in this blog is 100% skewed, as I'm NOT Chinese AND I come from a country that specifically designs, builds and thinks about how to make life easier in every way for us. One small and insignificant example would be aerosol cans. They are very hard to find over here, for many reasons. However, they are everywhere you look in the US. When I spray or rub on OFF! or sunscreen here, I curse how inconvenienced I am by the process. The aerosol cans make life SO much easier, regardless your views about their damage to the environment. It's a fact: they make life easier, thus their very existence. There are a ton of examples I could explain in detail, but I digress.

The POINT to the previous paragraph was that maybe because I AM American and used to the American way of life, I see and am especially affected by the differences between our cultures, especially in the everday way of life over here. There is a LARGE difference in the overall accommodations afforded to the Chinese versus what the expats have available to them. The apartment buildings are well past the point of disrepair, some even crumbling around the sides. Energy is a luxury and the malls, modes of transportation, shops and retail centers for the Chinese are either NOT air conditioned in this heat or are cooled, but to a minuscule amount. It's really barely tolerable..at least to foreigners. The smell emanating from these more "local" areas are also barely tolerable. This may be a contributing factor as to why you see trains, buildings, malls, hospitals, etc. segregated...Chinese vs. foreigners. I'm not sure. These establishments are much more comfortable if it is a well established expat venue. I'm not the only one who sees the difference. Many people have commented on China Eastern, a primarily Chinese airline. The differences between this airline and other airlines who cater to foreigners is immeasurable. Back to the buildings...if I see here in Shanghai, one of China's shining cities, so much ruin of the human condition, I can't imagine what I would see if I venture further inland, to the much more rural parts of China. A sad example would be the recent earthquakes. The building codes were grotesquely ignored or paid off to be ignored.

Also, you can't ignore the pressure the Chinese government puts on the "stars" of their land. These Olympic players want to win gold medals, OF COURSE, for themselves... but you can't discount the amount of pressure they have on them to "perform" and "excel" in the eyes of the world for something as significant as this event here in China. Please read the following link for just one author's view:

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/basketball/news?slug=aw-yaoteamusa081008&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

The driving. *sigh* The driving. I know I have written to many of you about the driving over here. Many of you already know what it is like over here. A brief synopsis would be that the Chinese are masters negotiators, even on the road. It's a negotiation of road space, everyone giving and taking space all at the time, more often than not, barely missing each other in the process. It's a wonder to foreigners how anyone could survive driving the way that they do over here. Surprisingly, I, personally, have seen very few accidents. But, I HAVE seen them. Many of you also know that mothers will ride cradling their infants on the backs of scooters, children will hold on tight both in front and behind the parent on scooters, etc. Trucks will nudge their way along through pedestrians, buses will speed along their routes, only stopping or slowing if very necessary, pedestrians will stand very still between lanes while speeding cars zip by them, u-turns will be made - anywhere. Colored lights and stop signs don't mean a thing here. They are used for some guidance, but the rules never apply. Fend for yourself, is the general rule. According to the people who we know have driver's licenses in both China and the US say that the rules of the road are extremely similar in text. So why isn't there more enforcement to protect China's people from getting hurt while on the road?

All of the above topics pertaining to the "conditions" here in China lead me to remind everyone that the Chinese people are not treated as equals, whether by each other and especially not by the government. Life is cheap, time is money. Their very own Chinese philosophy. This country is unregulated on so many levels, and many of us expats are reminded everyday about the unforeseen as well as the apparent dangers while living here. Americans rely on the standards set by our government, federal, state, county and city wide, to protect us and our children from as much apparent harm as possible. I LOVE THE USA!!!! We tend to take it for granted.

Justification for a higher education. Education being the key word here. We, as Americans, are so educated about safety in general. Yeah, it's very inconvenient to climb in the back of our van to strap the kids into their seats. But, thank the heavens, I have the education AND the means to provide my children with that level of safety, ESPECIALLY here in China. As for all the other unforeseen items that are well beyond my control? Well, I hope that for the duration of our stay here in China, they remain just that...unforeseen. I hope there ISN'T an earthquake here in Shanghai to make me see that the building codes were not enforced while building the school our kids are attending. ALL of THAT kind of stuff...

*SIGH*

I had the extreme misfortune to witness something horrible today. :( An unfortunate, but entirely predictable end in regards to the way of life here in China. I had instructed our driver to move along the shoulder very slowly along a length of road, so that I could see all the little shops better from the car. I was sitting in the front seat where the windows are not tinted so I could see at a distance a little better. We were driving along for quite a while when we noticed a few pedestrians and a large truck in the lane on the other side of the road. No big deal. Big trucks stop all the time in the middle of their lanes. WHY, I don't know. Anyway, as we passed, the car immediately in front of us slowed way down, so we slowed way down, to a snail's crawl. As we passed the back end of the truck...it was horrible. The truck had apparently hit a scooter. The scooter was driven by an old man with his wife (I'm guessing) on the back of it. There were some people standing around, staring, but no one was hovering over them trying to help or assisting in any manner. Only one man was standing off to the side on his cell phone. There was no sense of "rush" among any of the people who stood, just staring and pointing. One guy even had a cigarette between his fingers!! The woman was on her back with streams of blood running down her face. There was a pool of bright red blood beneath her head that was spreading onto the asphalt at a very alarming rate. And she was...twitching. The old man (her husband?) sat staring at her. I think he may have been in shock. He was about a foot away from her and was just sitting and staring, with his elbow over one knee.

Life is cheap. Time is money. It's disturbing...this philosophy. Of course, things like this happen in the US. But, the overall general negligence of road rules is disturbing, especially when you see cars, buses, vans and trucks careening towards scooters, bicycles and pedestrians, all at the same time. And there isn't any law enforcement doing anything about it. No consequences...because, hey, what's one life when you have a billion other people to worry about, right?

It has taken many decades to be where the Chinese are and until recently, China was under a much stricter rule. The Romans didn't build Rome in a day. It starts with the government and who's to say how long it'll take the tides of change to reach all of China's people. Seeing just the few things I have in the short amount of time I have been here, I AM happy for China and their willingness to change with the world, albeit slowly. They are one of the oldest civilizations on the planet and it's culture is steeped in ancient tradition. Rome wasn't built in a day...