2005-03-18 - 11:23 p.m.
You have done a great job of keeping up with my correspondences. My biggest problem is that since I"m so far away, I feel like i"m totally out of touch with the other 2 musketeers, my friends and family. People I love like little brothers, and after seeing and being so much a part of your lives, I feel left out. So I check my email rather breathlessly hoping that one of you may have written me, so that I can for a moment feel like I'm back 'home.' where you would walk in at some random time and we'd play a game of catch, or come over on the weekend for a bbq and some gaming.
For a while I had to grow up, and I left behind things I thought were too childish, and my wife introduced me to a group of really fun people. I got to watch them grow up, and sometimes influence their choices, and have them in my heart as family. Now I feel sometimes that I have given up the things that mean a lot to me because i have to. I left gaming and that scene because we had children, and I had to be responsible, and I got back into it because I could afford the time, and it feels like I"m leaving behind my youth because I'm so far away from my friends, and surrounded by so many people with such narrow closed minded views that I want to scream at them, but I know it will do no good.
Will
Trying yet again to maintain a blog of our travels abroad, especially as the children are getting older.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Sunday, March 6, 2005
Voice of Will: Problems Starting in China
2005-03-06 - 12:59 p.m.
So I'm feeling like I'm now living and working in a hostile environment.
So Friday night I go out with a former student. We go out and have a cup of coffee, and just talk. It helps him with his grammar and pronunciation to just talk, and allow me to catch errors, and correct him. His english skills are really good. In fact I think he could take the TOEFL examination, and pass it. He is a sophomore here, and his english is really good.
He comes in about 15 minutes late and seems very disturbed. I ask him what is going on, and he replies by asking me a question. "Do you hate Christians?" (I need to explain at this point, that I am a Buddhist.) A couple of thoughts go through my head, I can be sarcastic "No, I like them dead." Or "No, they just need lots of chocolate sauce." Or "YEEEESSSSSS!!!", but I decide to tell him the straight truth.) I tell him no. I don't hate anyone. There are people who I dislike who are christian, but there are people I dislike who are wiccan's, hebrews, muslims, and even buddhists. But I don't hate anyone from their belief.
He keeps on the topic. So you mean you have never stood up and shouted, "I hate christians, I will have nothing to do with them." Now I'm getting worried, who has been feeding this line to my friend. I tell him no. That would be innane, and very counterproductive, and definately not my style.
He goes on about how the group he was out with (all foreign teachers here who are very missionary) have told him that I hate christians, and that I have forbidden my family from doing anything with them. Now needless to say I'm very shocked. I have gone out of my way to be non confrontational with many of them (especially since I know the bible better than most of them do). This reallly hurts my feelings. But what angers me is what happens next.
The "fellow" 'teachers' encouraged him to tell me about Jesus and the bible. These teachers are gossiping about me to a STUDENT, and they are then trying to get the STUDENT to use his friendship with me to preach the gospel at me. What kind of 'teacher' does this?
So I'm hoppin mad at this point. The student tells me that he doesn't want to discuss christianity with me, because he knows I'm a buddhist. He RESPECTS my beliefs, and wants to be friends who believe differently.
So I finish up with this student, and are sitting there drinking a cup of coffee when I remember a conversation with one of my current students the day before. This student comes to see me and asks what he has to do to get an A in the class. I tell him study the notes at least 2x, to read the selections I give them at least 2x and when he has any questions to ASK ME. oh, and don't cheat. If you do all of this you should pass the class. If you study hard you should get an A or B. In the middle of our converstation, this student says to me "You don't hate chirstians do you."
I didn't think anything of it then, but after the converstaion on Friday night, I'm feeling like several teachers are discussing me around students, and now my students think they will get worse grades if they are Christian.
The funniest part of it is that some of my best friends are christian. I may not dislike Christians in general, but I'm beginning to detest come "christians" here.
Will
So I'm feeling like I'm now living and working in a hostile environment.
So Friday night I go out with a former student. We go out and have a cup of coffee, and just talk. It helps him with his grammar and pronunciation to just talk, and allow me to catch errors, and correct him. His english skills are really good. In fact I think he could take the TOEFL examination, and pass it. He is a sophomore here, and his english is really good.
He comes in about 15 minutes late and seems very disturbed. I ask him what is going on, and he replies by asking me a question. "Do you hate Christians?" (I need to explain at this point, that I am a Buddhist.) A couple of thoughts go through my head, I can be sarcastic "No, I like them dead." Or "No, they just need lots of chocolate sauce." Or "YEEEESSSSSS!!!", but I decide to tell him the straight truth.) I tell him no. I don't hate anyone. There are people who I dislike who are christian, but there are people I dislike who are wiccan's, hebrews, muslims, and even buddhists. But I don't hate anyone from their belief.
He keeps on the topic. So you mean you have never stood up and shouted, "I hate christians, I will have nothing to do with them." Now I'm getting worried, who has been feeding this line to my friend. I tell him no. That would be innane, and very counterproductive, and definately not my style.
He goes on about how the group he was out with (all foreign teachers here who are very missionary) have told him that I hate christians, and that I have forbidden my family from doing anything with them. Now needless to say I'm very shocked. I have gone out of my way to be non confrontational with many of them (especially since I know the bible better than most of them do). This reallly hurts my feelings. But what angers me is what happens next.
The "fellow" 'teachers' encouraged him to tell me about Jesus and the bible. These teachers are gossiping about me to a STUDENT, and they are then trying to get the STUDENT to use his friendship with me to preach the gospel at me. What kind of 'teacher' does this?
So I'm hoppin mad at this point. The student tells me that he doesn't want to discuss christianity with me, because he knows I'm a buddhist. He RESPECTS my beliefs, and wants to be friends who believe differently.
So I finish up with this student, and are sitting there drinking a cup of coffee when I remember a conversation with one of my current students the day before. This student comes to see me and asks what he has to do to get an A in the class. I tell him study the notes at least 2x, to read the selections I give them at least 2x and when he has any questions to ASK ME. oh, and don't cheat. If you do all of this you should pass the class. If you study hard you should get an A or B. In the middle of our converstation, this student says to me "You don't hate chirstians do you."
I didn't think anything of it then, but after the converstaion on Friday night, I'm feeling like several teachers are discussing me around students, and now my students think they will get worse grades if they are Christian.
The funniest part of it is that some of my best friends are christian. I may not dislike Christians in general, but I'm beginning to detest come "christians" here.
Will