3 days in China

It had been a rather unsuprising visit to China this time after 10 years away from 'home'. We didn't get up to much in these 3 days, we skirted around the complex where all my relatives live in the same streets within it - so far I remembered, eating food, playing cards, chatting to cousins and the major event of going to visit my great grandmother and grandpa at their graves on a rainny day.

However, I think one can regard this as an occupational illness; I did a lot of observation and reflection of what I heard and observed. It saddens and frigthens me - some of these seemingly possibly normal imagine and reflection of normal every day society of china today.

1) you will hardly ever see any children in the streets playing together. Firstly, there just isn't enough of them around under the one child policy and secondly if they do exist; they are hidden at schools all day (until 6 pm or 10 pm at night). I wonder what can one learn within the walls of schools except academics for that long!! At some point I am sure the brain stop working. What kind of life is this at the most enegetic and exciting moments of youth?

The pressure to compete and do better than one's best takes children's breath away.
The mixture results?? In rebelious youth who will not listen to their parents or make any beneficial and responsibile decisions that is good for their own future. And yes, if they need/want to try out drugs, not go home and become part of a gang - so be it; that's the path they will follow. The society is ill and it is sick - who can be the doctor that maybe able to fix this?

2) relating to children, the attitude and interaction between adults and the perceived children also took me by suprise a little. Some parents 'love' their children too much (unable to disipline them) vs. others would chat with friends in resutrants completely ignoring the child who is desperately looking for affirmation and attention from her mother.

3) The wealth of the few and povetry of many hidden faces - the ugly face of materialism

It is suprisingly infrequent to see 'poor' faces in Shenzen even through I am sure of their existence. I somehow wonder about the voice they have in this society - probably not very loud I guess (well it's not like I can validify this with them seeing they are so hard to find). The amount of wealth the wealthy people have - from the clothes they wear, the designer shops they buy things from and the cars they drive. My only response... is silence.........