There are moments on this trip....

There are moments on this trip that I hope stay with me forever. Today was one of them. We visited a typical Chinese village today, one like you would find all over rural China and the way most Chinese live. The home we visited was a cave home, dug out of the side of the hill where 5-8 people typically live. In China people are registered to a city so they can move from the city but they can't receive certain government benefits, such as education, from a different city which forces people to stay. The village has no running water so they must cart in all their water. There is no plumbing and heat is from a stove fueled by coal at the end of the large bed. Wen Wu, who once lived in this village spoke of the obstacles he overcame to be able to leave this village, get a college education and to study in the US. Wen Wu brought us here to show us the "real China". He spoke to how the Chinese government will "put makeup on the face of China but will ignore the body". Although we've been in some smaller cities that rarely see tourists, we have seen more of the face of China, now we see the body.

Despite the extreme poverty, the family generously shared their watermelon with us. It was a sacrifice for them but they did it willingly. One of the people I am traveling with brought a Polaroid camera so we took a group photo to give to them. I know it will stay on their wall.

There were five children playing near us, so filled with laughter and playfulness. It hurt to look into their eyes and realize that they will be living this life indefinitely unless there is something miraculous that happens. Yan Ji, our interpreter, told us that his parents are from a village like this but even more remote. His parents were able to move to a bigger city because they were one of the 4% of students who passed their examination for college entrance that year. If they hadn't achieved this, Yan Ji would still be in that village instead of studying at the university and dreaming of studying in America.

I've kept up with the state shutdown and the debt ceiling debate somewhat since I've been here and although it frustrates me, I also am reminded how fortunate we are to be able to have these debates. I've struggled in China because of my independence and strong opinions. This is a country that does not value the individual and places great value on fitting in with the group. The opportunities we have are not without struggle and sacrifice but we have them. It is good to be reminded that this is a freedom that should never be taken for granted.

I've uploaded two more albums of photos to Shutterfly.

http://joaninchina2011.shutterfly.com/