ON THE CUSP OF 60! CHINA
marita casartelli downes
Everyone asks me, “Why China?” I could say because, “it was there”, but the answer is more complicated than that. The forces of serendipity and my character came together to cause a life changing event in my personal history. I went there because I was laid off from my job as a computer programmer and wanted adventure. I felt that there was nothing exciting in my life. I was a typical fifty-three-year-old Sixties’ sell out to middle class America. I had experienced the joys and traumas the late Twentieth century – high paying job, a house, two children, a divorce. Now it was time to live for myself. I chose China because I longed to live in a foreign country, longed to live in a place that spoke another language, longed to see if in other places, people really did think differently. My choice of China ultimately came down to practicality. Who would accept an older woman with only a bachelor’s degree to teach English? But I was excited about it. I had studied Chinese history in college, have half-Asian cousins, and was curious about the workings of Communism on a day-to-day basis. In addition, I felt a sense of urgency about my life. I would never be this young or healthy again. I wanted to follow the advice of Henry James. “Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to.” So, I went for six months and stayed a year
In addition, I wanted to be unique, to stand out. I was more afraid of sinking down into mediocrity than I was of going half-way around the world. Maybe it’s a tribute to my only childhood. I believed I was special. It’s strange because I wasn’t particularly happy as a child, and was neglected by my parents. But, I also got my own way a lot. I used to joke with friends that I was always right. I felt right about this, too; I just didn’t want to go to my grave having lived an ordinary life. Thus, I set off to Dōng Huá Lĭ Gōng Xué Yuàn (ECIT -East China Institute of Technology) in Fúzhou, Jiangxi Province, PRC.
Fuzhou became a second home. To the left is a map that everyone told me did not exist. As far as I know it is the only map on Fuzhou on the internet.
I had many adventures when I was in China. One was riding the Shanghai subway: Shanghai subway map A good idea gone awry. Someone decided that putting the subway map on the ceiling of the subway car. Sounds good until you try to read it. You need to be positioned in one direction to read it and then only if you can do a backbend.
One thing that you'll see all over China is signs in "Chinglish." Because China has been isolated for so long, English has not necessarily been taught by native speakers. The result is a hybrid that seems strange to us. This is one of my favorite examples. The concept of the sitting on the ground period evolving into the sitting on furniture period is very cute indeed. Chinglish sign
