Thor's China Diary September 1998 to August 2000

The entries in this diary are spontaneous, undiplomatic and likely to be regretted later. That's the nature of day to day living, especially in an unfamiliar culture and country. We all make as much sense of the world as we can. When it is a new world, the sense of the moment is often non-sense in retrospect, and the incomprehensible behaviour of foreigners ("them" or me, depending upon your starting point) may be perfectly logical within a framework of reality which we have not yet noticed or accepted.

I could have written what follows with ifs and buts and maybes. I could have left out the bits that might make me look dumb later, or that might offend friends who meant well. Well, personal names have been changed or eliminated. That is all though. It seems to me that the mistakes, the exasperation, even the paranoia sometimes, are part of the story. They give it freshness and authenticity. This writer will contradict himself, put his foot in his mouth. So what? If learning to live in a new culture is worth anything at all, it must mean that I will change and grow. Therefore dear reader, judge me if you will, but don't expect to find the same fellow here next time you call.

Happy reading, Thor.
Wuhan, China

 

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...Introduction / 1.Shanghai Arrival / 2. A Dream of Red Mansions ..in which our hero is duchessed / 3. WTUSM Welcome Dinner / 4. Bicycle Wars / 5. Barefoot Dentistry ... in which our hero fails to  ride a bicycle / 6. Two Thousand Steps to the Mountain / 7. Chinese Medley ... a symphony orchestra teaches the masses / 8. An Upper Middle Class Evening / 9. Paralysis - The Core Problem with Chinese Universities / 10. Foreign Experts Plant Trees ...on being a VIP / 11. Chinese Tooth Torture / 12. Letter Home /  13. New China: Reflections on Political Rage / 14. Fake Dream /  15. Living With China Upside Down and Backwards / 16. A Red, Black & White Culture / 17. Strolling / 18. Dining with the Governor / 19. The Rag Trade / 20. When a Dog is as Tall as a Man / 21. The Outside Track on Happiness / 22. Sinned Against / 23. Horse Horse Tiger Tiger /  24. Video Wisdom / 25. City Traveler / 26. Apples to Go / 27. All's Fair / 28. The Chinese Economic Union?? / 29. Mei Guanxi - Back with the Dentists / 30. The General('s) Hospital / 31. Whimsy, Where are You? / 32. The Photograph / 33. Silence of the Elders / 34.The Dialects of Wuhan / 35. Silk Barrier / 36. A Business Proposal /  37. Virtue versus the Quick Buck / 38. Sisyphus and the Rock of Education / 39. The Factory Visit / 40. Scooter Babes / 41. Notes on Cantonese / 42. The Bamboo Cage / 43. Goodies & Baddies / 44. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king / 45. Corruption in Chinese English exams (note from a reader) /  46. The boarding kindergarten / 47. Till Death Do Us Part / 48. Dining Out on Laundry Soap /  49. When is a Museum a Museum? / 50. Honesty, Spirit and the Communist Way / 51.  The Bad Old Days of Planned Theft / 52. Funeral by the Lake / 53. Modern Dance Ballet / 54. The Suit / 55. Departures / see also Travel Notes (includes Chinese cities)

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