Impressions:  the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

I carry few impressions of Beijing around in my head from 6 years ago.  What I remember the most is that everyday folks on the streets gawked at me with my lightly colored hair.   I also think that the 6 months that we spent in China in the winter of 2006 / 2007 were months of isolated living.  Don’t misunderstand me, Tom and I didn’t sit home by the fire, we were engaged and busy yet at the same time we were isolated from the everyday people of Beijing.  Maybe these days I’m more open minded or  maybe it’s that without a driver to protect and look after me,  I’m left to deal with real people and the best and worst of everyday life on my own. 

I relocated to Beijing with hesitation knowing that we wouldn’t have a car and driver.  However, I am a graduate of Asia for Beginners 101:  Singapore; so I came back to China with “A Little Engine that Could” attitude.  My Singapore background is polite and organized and my China experience is, well, simply different.

I believe the public transportation system in Beijing is a lesson in the humanity of the city:  the good, the bad and the ugly.  After 6 weeks I have limited experience with this system, yet I find it telling. 

The Good .  I’ve witnessed young men giving up seats on the subway to older men; and older men giving up their seats to older women.  I’ve “met” older men and women who try to give me a seat; they are the same men and women who openly acknowledge me with warm smiles and gestures.   I don’t know if it’s because I’m not young or that I’m  waiguoren  (foreigner)  or both.   I know these men and women grew up in a very different China then I see today, and I am truly touched by their grace; it is genuine, and it’s honest. 

The Bad.  All the good that I’ve experience tends to be overshadowed by pockets of bad simply because bad shows itself as larger than life.  To date, I’ve had two bad experiences on the subway.  The first negative experience Tom and I had together during the October Golden Week.  At 7:00 pm we were going three subway stops from home and the capital city was crowded with visitors.  At the middle stop the masses pushed their way into the subway cars in such force that the subway doors wouldn’t close, so they pushed harder into the already packed cars.  I wanted to get out and walk home, but I couldn’t! 

I passed this off to the National Day holiday period, until yesterday, Wednesday, October 10^th, when I found myself fighting to get out of a subway car at 8:45 in the morning.  (No Singapore politeness and organization here.)  I couldn’t fight my way out of the subway car because of the numbers of people pushing with the enthusiasm of a crowd mentality to get on; that is, the number of people who couldn’t wait for the next train that would arrive in approximately 3 minutes.  An older man grabbed my arm and pulled me forward and out of the chaos. 

Okay, I told you that this was The Bad, please refer back to The Good.

The Ugly.   I don’t know how to deal with The Ugly because it pains me too much.   The Ugly are cripples, the lame, the blind, a mother with a hydrocephalic child, and finally today the legless  beggar who pushed his way through the subway cars.  I find that I am not living up to my Christian values.  I am not doing anything to help those in need.  The Epistle of James convicts me to be a doer, and yet I don’t know how to begin because the need is so overwhelming.  I don’t like The Ugly, but it’s in my face every day that I walk out into this city.

Please refer back to The Good.