30 minutes to home

i'm off. i zoom. i stop. i swerve. i spot. i check. i honk. i double-check. i slow. i speed up. i signal. i slam. i honk. i breathe. i grimace. i cough. i turn. i squint. i look. i go. i accelerate. i honk. i glance. i flinch. i dodge. i brake. i sigh. i go on. i look back. i smile. i speed. i'm home.

the world is magnanimous

unbegrudgingly, i look out my window, crystal, castle: sky.
anddelightingme,
my hearty heart loudwhispering (says)
"go live!"

for the world is a rose that grows and grows magnanimously.

all-widening summer's golden bow of truth: it’s cosmic smile,
gladinfinitely...
i say: “instant yesses and unsecond-guesses make life ‘living’, jeff,
so live!”

for the world is a rose that grows and grows magnanimously!

With Hope

the previous post titled, "bi jiao" was a weak attempt at showing the contrast between the greatest gap in china...the gap between the extremely rich and the extremely poor. and in truth, the poorest of the poor in rural china would not be able to learn eng. much less anything close to resembling what is being taught their fortunate counterparts.

in an extremely interesting and insightful paper from the economics dept. of dalhousie university, three students show the alarming trends of the poor (and the poorly educated) in china:

"Between 1991 and 2000...income inequality grew rapidly in China. The disappearance in the 1990s of subsidized food coupons in China has increased the importance of money income poverty in enabling consumption of basic foods by poor families. Chinese society has experienced both rapid growth in average incomes and rising economic inequality. Greater inequality in money incomes and reduced social protection can both be expected to increase the real economic deprivation of the least well-off." (http://economics.dal.ca/RePEc/dal/wparch/WIDER_Nov_18_2007.pdf)

in other words, those with little or no means of any self-support lost the little that they had (which, at least, had been given to them by the government). for those who live in dire poverty, it truly is a vicious cycle. they have no money, so they have no means to receive education, and therefore have little hope of bettering themselves or their children.

on a more positive note, "'China is scheduled to offer nine year compulsory education free to children in rural areas starting from 2006.' Premier Wen Jiabao announced (in 2005) addressing the 'Fifth High Level Group Meeting on Education For All' sponsored by UNESCO." however, the same govt. article later states that "China plans to offer nine-year education free to children in its rural areas by 2010 and nationwide by 2015." so, as is the case with many things in china, it's unclear as to exactly when stated policy will become an observable reality. but, as they say, the great wall wasn't built in a day.

bi jiao

i open eyes. sun is where? move hands. again. again. my hungry. smell rice out burning. many class today. my clothes yi yang. i at school is home. no wash. book is know where? (big place up and down). nage, nage, nage bi? pencil. today, white man is come. white man many, many wash.

i wake up. refreshed. the sun is big and beautiful. ugh, the heater is still on. it's been going all night. i walk downstairs and eat breakfast. a few pieces of fruit and some pork dumplings. yum. and my favorite cartoon is on! the driver can wait. i jump in the shower. change clothes. where is that book? (of kingdoms conquering and being conquered)? and my new pencil case and markers? a foreign man is coming today. i heard that they bathe 3 times a day.

if i turn my head 90 degrees...

if i turn my head 90 degrees to the right i see a row of dilapidated apartment buildings: cement, multi-colored, faded. one is the yellow-green hue of a turtle's underbelly (except with pink trim, of course). another is off-white. another is red as red river dirt. below and to the front are a few shanties that would give the hoover homes a run for their lack of money. every now and then, though, a tenant comes out to water a plant or hang clothes to dry in the sun. flush against these living quarters, and spread all around, is a junk yard. a steel garden. a vehicle cemetery. and yet, just a stone's throw beyond all of this complex urban scenery are a few business sky-rises, standing tall, alone, nearly unapproachable...