As I look out the window of the tour-style school bus that I ride with the children on Tuesdays, I think about how my views of China have changed in the last 8 months.
When we first arrived I noticed the extreme poverty that you see in so many areas, and how it is so close in relation to areas of extreme wealth. Right outside of the gates of our over-priced, over-sized, over-done compound, is a gentleman who sells Chinese pottery. He has just recently chosen this spot to set up shop. A mere 10 feet from his products, stands his tent. This is his home, not just shade for the day. Just 50 feet from his location, the migrant worker's housing starts. This is a "neighborhood" built of tin shacks, where the workers who are building the new part of our compound live.
In the spring, I was greatly bothered by these sites, but they are common to me now. I still find it very sad, but it is no longer a shock to see. It is everywhere. Tucked into the corners of downtown Shanghai, next to five-star hotels and expensive shopping, and on the road which leads to Shanghai American School.
I have stopped looking at these things as filthy and upsetting, and begun to enjoy watching the people within them. I find these things are one of my favorite parts of life in China. Of course, this is from the outside, looking in. If I were in their position, I would be a whiny, pain-in-the- butt. They handle it gracefully. It is all they have ever known.
On the road to the school, there is a small, poor town. It is not a tin-shack town, but a few steps higher on the housing ladder. People sit outside their homes eating breakfast, doing laundry, taking care of grandchildren. The "shops" consist of open stalls, selling whatever the locals may need. Everything looks old and dirty. Things, we, as Americans, would never touch. The local school looks like a warehouse, or even an abandoned building. It took me a long time to realize it was the town school. I see the students occasionally, lined up to go inside.
A few hundred yards away, the gates to another expensive compound, and an International American school. Millions of dollars of materials and technology, just a short walk away from poverty. We know which provides the better education. We know which kids have a full tummy at night. We know which children have a better chance of physical health. I wonder how the souls of those children compare with mine. I'm sure their souls are full of family, friends, and love, with no expectation of anything else.
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