So far my experience in Qingdao has been mostly boredom, frustration, and loneliness punctuated by random but wonderful experiences that make it all worthwhile.
I started hanging around with David, a really nice German guy in my Chinese class who is known for being hit in the head with a beer bottle by a Russian guy in a bar. That's another story...David then asks me if I am interested in meeting his German friend Maren who wants to find a English speaking language partner for her coworker. I say, "Yeah, sure thing." without much interest to be honest. Next day we arrange to meet up and I hit it off with Maren and her Chinese friend Michelle. Michelle met Maren by chance on a bus a week before. Maren and Michelle become my weekend friends because they satisfy
Elliott's New Criteria for Friendship:
1. Smart.
2. Kind.
3. Not full of bullshit.
Next thing I know, Michelle invites us over to her hometown of Gaomi for dinner. I jump at the chance because it's one of the things I want to do most in China. We head out last weekend by train, and it's everything I hoped for: super kind parents, shy cousins, delicious food, wonderful hospitality, and incomprehensible dialect. I felt grateful and humbled to be given the chance.
But it all ends abruptly. Maren is going back to Germany next week and Michelle is going back to school in Qufu. I'm left in Qingdao now trying to see what random people will walk into my life next.
I have a feeling it will be more Germans. I seem to have good karma with them. Of all the nationalities here I get along best with them. They are smart, honest, and dark humored. I ask them about David Hasselhoff and they ask me whether all Americans are such dumbasses. It's really hard to justify electing Arnold Schwarzenegger as your Governor. Try it.
I get brownie points when I try to speak to them in German from the 4 years I took in high school. They seem very pleased that any American can speak their language. Interestingly there are very few Americans in Qingdao. I think it is because Americans are very uninteresed in China compared to the rest of the world. A shame considering the next century will be a Chinese/American one.
From my experience so far I think Chinese people understand America much better than Americans understand China. The Chinese I've met have been very candid in saying that they think America is trying to use Tibet and Taiwan as a tool to keep China divided and politically weak. At first I thought this was Chinese proproganda. But on second thought, I think they're right. Just as much as they are raised on Chinese proproganda, the West has been raised on it's own. Ok enough of my stump speech. I'm just saying, give the Tibet thing a rest. Are we giving back America to the Native Americans? I think not.
