Headed to China
Written by janae hagen Tuesday, 11 May 2010 08:00
“You’re going to China?” Yes, I’m going to China. “Wow. That’s crazy!” Yes, I know it’s crazy. Then the dumbfounded look of awe from each newly informed friend usually lasts for up to 10 seconds before breaking into more rapid-fire questions.
That scene has been played out at least once every day for the past month and a half.
Yes, I’m moving to China. I find myself having to repeat that over and over in my head as I try to digest it.
In all my endeavors, none have proven more emotionally draining than when I try to process the fact that I’m moving to a country that I only have vague generalizations of what to expect.
I have zero expectations for China. I never, ever saw myself going to Asia. It’s not that I didn’t want to, I just had never thought about it. I guess that’s the beauty of this adventure. China to me is like a blind date, all that I really know about him is what I was able to creep off his limited profile on Facebook.
To me, China is Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Xi’an with a landmass the size of the United States lying in between them all. It’s the land of emperors and the world’s largest wall. It’s home to the most people in the entire world. And in my eyes the language is a tangled web of darts and dashes forming an incomprehensively beautiful script.
China also happens to be the last communist world power. I’ve studied their government and gained a solid understanding of the economic machine that keeps their GDP growing at a rate of nearly 10 percent a year.
China is also on the winning side of a nauseatingly large trade deficit with the United States. In this economic climate, that’s rather disconcerting.
Everything from my sunglasses to my water cups to the picture frames on my wall is made in China. I read last fall that one Chinese city makes only buttons. In fact, 80 percent of the buttons used in the clothes that are made in China (so, like half of my closet) are made in that one city. It’s a thriving button-industry city – can you imagine!
Yet, the Chinese people I’ve met break every economic or government-laden generalization I have dreamt up about the country. By far they are some of the most friendly, kind-hearted people I know. My Chinese friends are fiercely patriotic and are thrilled I want to learn more about their home.
So off I go.
Off I go to the land where Facebook and Twitter are blocked. My best friend, Google, won’t be accompanying me either. Hell, I haven’t quite figured out how I’m going to stream my blog since most blogging sites are blocked by the Great Firewall.
I’ve got three months to prepare for the adventure of my life. At this point, four out of five days are good ones when I think of the incredible people, the great university I’ll be working at, the beautiful cities and the millennia of traditions that still are proudly practiced.
But every now and then, the fear of the unknown envelops me. The language barrier, the humongous cities, and expansive government kind of freak me out.
When I go, I’ll be ready. And knowing me, after a month I won’t want to come home.
Janae is a senior studying journalism.
