Privilege Wednesday

I think there is an abrasive difference between two types of students. The students with money to do whatever they want, and the students with enough money to study. I fortunately and unfortunately reside with the students who have some money to experience many things.

After hanging out with some Chinese students from Nankai and some Chinese study abroad students from UMD, I realize that the attitudes imbibed by both are completely different. I feel as though I can relate more towards the students who do not have the money to do whatever they want. They are more level headed, realistic, approachable and modest. This is not an insult to anyone who resides in the other category of students, it is all based on circumstance and opportunity. But I have a hard time relating to expensive things such as luxury cars or impressive gadgets. One of the students who I really enjoyed talking to just recently received her first Ipod. This is pretty cool, but expensive gadgets are not the topic of conversation that I have with her. We frequently talked about life and explaining what certain aspects of our lives mean to us. That's not to say that other people do not indulge in that sort of conversation, but I find it more prevalent among these students.

In short, I realize that by having it all, you are actually missing the other half of it all. This has really made me fall in love with this country and its ethic of working as hard as possible to achieve a maximum from a minimum. This trip has definitely inspired me to work as hard as possible on my Chinese, come back and teach English and Bboying/Bgirling (break dancing) to the youth and eventually find a real job here.