The Fear of Life

It has been a while since I have last updated, and for that I have but one excuse: the Chinese are relentless in their academics. I am feeling it. Three hours of straight Chinese, taught exclusively in very rapid Chinese, followed by three hours of Chinese Management courses makes for long grueling days. Add to that, that last weekend it was 113 degrees at 100% humidity (raining off and on), suddenly paying attention and staying sharp is like "wading through treacle", as Bear Grylls says. I almost titled this post, "Everything Here Breaks." Because, well, my toilet flusher, books, shower, laundry machine, hangers, bamboo apparatus, water bottle, cup, amongst other things have all broken. Doing laundry in China is quite interesting. You must ask yourself only two questions: "Could your load of laundry conveniently fit into a lunch sack?" and "Do you enjoy the prospect of dizzying heights?" If you have answered no to either question, then you may understand why most students opt for the local dry cleaner. While Chinese washing machines are rather straight forward, the drying process is not. Here on the 9th story I was forced to hang my clothes  onto a bamboo pole hanging from various hooked rungs which are suspended 12 feet above the balcony. This is achieved by using a small "pitch fork" like tool to carefully balance a hanger brandishing your clothing item. While balancing your hanger, you must now successfully hook the hanger onto the bamboo pole in the wind while standing on your tippy-toes overlooking a 100 foot fall. Situations like this make me question the concept of fear in China, as fearlessness abounds. No fear of driving your moped down a crowded sidewalk, no fear of walking directly into on-coming traffic to cross a street, no of fear smoking in a pharmacy, no fear of breaking a sewer line onto the road where locals have laid their fruits for today's market. I learned that this deadened sense was responsible for a large amount of the business growth in China during the mid 90's. China only recently began to enforce laws in such matter as anti-trust and proper book-keeping. China's business is guided through a different set of laws known as Guanxi, or what we commonly call "networking" and "building face." Apparently the Chinese judge the worth of something through three steps: its value to social relations, its reasonability, and finally its legality. Banks do not lend money to those without Guanxi. Consequently, unpaid debts result in the nullification of your reputation via a black list. As Dr. Dong so eloquently said, "Not business is business, business is life." Maybe that's why my roommate sleeps in his school clothes. Frodo, my roommate, is a real stand up guy. He is incredibly thoughtful and helpful. When he has to wake up early to catch a bus, he will get both of us breakfast and bring it back. He always denies payment, and I inevitably have to literally force the money in his hand. He won't tell me if he is tired / warm / cold / hungry, and waits on my every queue. It's thougtfulness almost to the point of masochism. So I have stay abreast of his needs. In order to understand Frodo, I must become Frodo. The jewel is in the lotus.... hummmmmmmm.....

The heat, the lack of sleep, the noise, the air, the language, it all seems to be draining me slowly. Sort of like the water in my rusty shower drain. I asked Dr. Dong about Guanxi in regards to the new China. She said, "Everyone should have fear; the fear of life."