Mon ami Dan, has, in a way, tagged me on a meme. But this is
a unique one, where when you get tagged, new questions are created just for you by the tagger. I got tagged
a couple weeks ago but have been quite busy, and our Internet has been
uncooperative (thank you Golden Shield) that my time surfing the ‘net has been
quite limited these days. If you want me to “interview” you, leave a comment
with your email address or email me, since I can no longer post comments due to
the firewalls.
1) Who
is your favorite pre-20th-century author?
I’ve been thinking about this
question since it was asked, and it’s been a lot harder to answer than I
expected. There was a time period where the vast majority of what I read was
pre-20th century, and mainly British, and I thought 20th
century lit was crap. Then I took a class on 1930s American Literature that,
well, honestly, completely changed my literary life. And it’s now making it
really difficult to answer the question, as I’ve moved away from pre-20th
century literature these past couple years.
But after much searching, I think
my favorite pre-20th century author is Thomas Hardy. His books are
tender, tragic, melancholy, and draw you in like no other. I remember reading Jude
the Obscure for AP English senior year in high school and totally falling in
love with Jude, even though his life was a complete disaster and not at all
what he had hoped it would be.
I remember watching the BBC
adaptation, then reading, Far From the Madding Crowd in the mid ‘90s and admiring
and hating Bathsheba all at the same time, for her stubbornness and her
naivety.
I also love that he wrote strong
female characters during a time where women were considered to be inferior.
2) You've
spent several years now in a relationship with a geek. What aspect of nerd
culture are you secretly most glad to have been exposed to?
Hands down, I’m glad to have been
exposed to comic books. Even though I’ve not read many, and I’m really
particular on what I read (if I don’t like the art I have a hard time getting
into the story), I adore them. And I love going into comic book stores and
seeing the vast array of genres out there. I’m looking forward to going back to
the comic book store in Bethesda
when we come home.
3) What three European cities do you most want to visit that you haven't
already?
Prague,
Munich, Warsaw
4) Has spending time in a non-Western culture changed the way you think about
American/Western society, either for better or worse?
Definitely, I’ve realized how much
I take for granted: clean water, clean air, “Western” toilets, my own bathroom,
washing machines, the ability to dissent, unobstructed access to the Internet,
newspapers with real news, and the educational system. I also realize that the
Chinese have a different idea of friendship than we do. Because the students
are pretty much classmates until they go to college the vast majority of our
Chinese friends are still friends with their primary school classmates, which
is almost unheard of in the States. I can name only a few people I know in the
States that are have friendships such as these. The idea of community is much
deeper here than in the States, for better and worse.
Unfortunately, all the things that
drive me nuts about Western culture, especially American culture has been
intensified since coming here. Things like hyper-consumerism, big cars, the
American government thinking it knows all the answers, the government’s
inability to separate a people from the government that leads them.
I’ve also realized that I can’t
foster change in a foreign country the way I can in the States. If I were
unhappy with the, oh say, educational system in America I’d be able to talk
with teachers, meet with my local PTA, school board, form a committee, etc. to
see what can be done to help make changes.
Here, because I am a foreigner, I
can’t do squat and it’s really frustrating. ESPECIALLY when it comes to the
educational system. Yes the kids excel at math and science, but they have no
life outside of school. They and the teachers are overworked, and it’s not just
the strict guidelines set out by the government. The government is slowly
trying to change things. But the majority of the parents are fighting against
the change. When teachers try to lighten the load parents freak out saying
their child needs more work. (Niels had a teacher friend tell him that a parent
called saying more homework and exams needed to be given.) If classes get
cancelled on the weekends (as they have been for all public middle schools here),
parents hire private tutors for all day weekend classes.
The Chinese style of education
does have some good qualities, but I think the bad ones far outweigh the good.
The students are too dependent on what their teachers or parents think, they
don’t learn how to think for themselves; only to memorize and regurgitate. They
have no time to foster their individual interests, so when they graduate and
actually have some free time before going to university they have no clue what
to do with their time.
Change is slowly coming but
unfortunately not where its needed most, meaning it’s happening in Beijing and Shanghai,
but everywhere else is resisting the change, even though they know by resisting
it is hurting the students
5) What do you think American
progressives most need to do to get their act together and work effectively for
change?
Stop infighting. They need to put
their differences aside and work together on what they agree on. I hate to say
it but they need to learn from the Republicans on this one. Newt Gingrich did
an amazing job in the mid-1990s to unite his party, and unfortunately, the
Democrats and the progressives don’t have a leader which they can turn to. And
until they get one, they’re going to continue to flounder.