Round Two

When I returned from China last year, I really did not expect to go back for at least several years. Life in China had simply lost its luster-- pollution, corruption, cultural differences, exhaustion-- all made me long for the trip home. About a month after I returned home, I got the urge to go to Germany, but within a few days of arriving, I knew that I was not yet ready to begin another short-term life in a foreign country. I was blessed with a job at Oglethorpe University immediately upon returning from Germany, and I am thankful for the experience.

Sometime around the thaw of the spring, though, I begin to yearn again for the relative simplicity (not to be confused with ease) of my life in China. Eventually, I made the decision to return to school and started thinking about how China might be involved in my future studies. Certainly, the development in China was something to be awed, but I also wished I could have had more of a hand in directing, or moderating, that development. China's rapid development means that millions of workers, mostly voluntarily, become displaced as they follow the manufacturing and construction jobs around the country. Often, though, their children are left without an education, as they lack the proper paperwork and permits to study away from their natural home. Just as we value the cheap goods afforded by illegal workers in America, so, too, are the migrant workers valued in China only as long as their work is required. Any desire for social support on the part of the migrant worker is mocked as pipe dreams, as another migrant or illegal worker is always ready to step up to fill the need, without wish for rights and fair or appropriate compensation. In addition to an interest in education and development, I also hope to examine housing, poverty, homelessness, and racial/immigrant prejudices. All are problems in China, but so, too, are they in America. Thus, my hope is that a comparative approach will allow me to address issues in America and learn from other contexts how me may improve our own social support systems, awareness, and development.

Naturally, as I thought about going back to school and conducting research in China, with this trip I hope to establish a few connections with professors, researchers, and NGO leaders to support that research. I also plan to visit a few friends across the East Coast.

Unfortunately, around the time I was formulating these plans, the earthquake in Sichuan struck. Initially, I was quite disappointed, for I have wanted to travel to Sichuan since I first arrived in China, and I thought the earthquake would again prevent me from doing so. But, upon more thought, now is the perfect time to visit. I hope to become involved, if possible, with relief effort. This has been no easy task; it seems to be easier to acquire a paying job than it does to simply volunteer in China. I have made a few contacts, but any volunteer work will likely result from simply traveling to the area and inquiring about specific needs. I may be able to help, but I may not. With China, nothing is ever certain. To friends back home, this often comes across as a daredevilness or a lack of preparation, perhaps, but I try to view it more as a realization that flexibility in the most important trait to carry with oneself in the country.

Even if I am unable to lay brick and mortar on a new home or participate in other manual labor, I think the trip will be incredibly worthwhile. If nothing else, I hope to observe the work community organizations are doing, observe how people are coping, and consider how the response may more adequately support the needs and redevelopment of the area.

This blog will apparently forever be reserved for postings from/about China. I will do my best to keep it updated over the next five weeks.