Life's Tough

To me, this guy typifies China. I can be a terribly, terribly hard slog. Hard work and done manually.

I was in a taxi to work today stopped at a set of lights and this guy went past. He is pushing this obiously heavy tricycle to wherever it needs to get. It reminded me of how hard it is to live here. Generally people have to scratch for everything they get. The sheer numbers of people dictates that everythig that is gained is hard fought for.

From an early age, kids are pushed to work and work hard so they can get from a good Elementary School to a good High School, to a good University and then a good job. Some of my stdents spend their entire weekend at 'extra classes'. Chinese, English, Math and maybe an 'enjoyable', art or music class. The whole idea is to be outstanding at SOMETHING. If you aren't outstanding, you seem to end up mixed in with the huge masses of people.

Some people looking in from the outside see this as a bad thing.. I have been here long enough to just accept that it is the "Chinese" way. Neither good nor bad. It is just the norm. The sheer numbers of people that are competing, means that the limited spaces available are hard, hard, hard fought for and earned. OR.. as is the way too often, the places are 'paid for'. In China.. Who you know can often be much more valuable than what you know.

But, like I said.. its not good.. its not bad.. it just is.