05.30.08
Return to the Middle Kingdom!
I’m going back to China!…only for the summer this time though.
About this time last year, after living in China 3.5 years, there was little doubt in my mind that my time in China was nearing an end, and I was ready to acclimate back to my life as an American. However, I always thought it would have been a shame to live in China from 2004-2007, only to miss the Beijing Olympics and all of the hoopala surrounding them. Nonetheless, I have been spending the past seven months settling into my life in Chicago, and must say I do see myself living here long-term. Chicago is the only location in the universe which is both Midwestern and cosmopolitan, and I can’t think of any better location for suburban boy from Kansas to live out the remainder of his 20’s. With that in mind, I had been resigned to the fact I had the amazing years in China, but the Olympics would be an event I’d just have to let pass by.
Two weeks ago, I received an offer to work on an ethnography project from the company I had worked for during my last year in China. After several days of deliberation, I decided that it was a once and a lifetime opportunity I could not pass up on. (I would have made an announcement earlier, but needed to get all the details taken care of, plus tell my current employer, before making the decision public.)
On Friday the 13th of June I will be flying to Beijing. The project will begin promptly, and then wrap up around early to mid July. After that, I am planning to return to Fuzhou to see friends for a few weeks, as well as do some more traveling within China. I won’t finalize my itinerary until I get to China, but at this point, I am leaning towards Dongbei (Northeast China) since it’s one of the regions I’ve still never been to, plus it’s not too far from Beijing.
The Olympics begin on 8/8/08 at 8:08:08 pm, so I should be back in Beijing by early August. To be frank, I’ve never been much a fan of Olympic sports, and am not really concerned whether or not I see too many of the events. My reasons for wanting to be in China this August revolve much more around experiencing how the country reacts to the events, rather than the events themselves. Hosting the Olympics is a major event for any country, but no Olympiad has ever been more significant to its host country than this summer’s games will be for China. It is going to be a coming out party for the New China, and I want to be there to experience everything first hand.
I will be leaving China on September 10 and spending 3 days in Tokyo before returning to Chicago on September 14. During the next few months, I plan to keep this blog updated with reports from Beijing and give “Midwesterner in the Middle Kingdom” the kick in the 屁股 that it’s badly needed ever since I left China. It’s going to be an incredible summer and I’m already ecstatic that everything is finally coming together. One World, One Dream, One Ridiculously Expensive Plane Ticket…See y’all in Beijing!
harry_d
said,
May 30, 2008 at 6:55 pm
wow, that is absolutely fantastic!
I am so happy for you, and so happy that we will get a chance to hear about your adventures!
Thanks!
Glen
said,
May 30, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Good luck getting a visa!
vivian
said,
May 30, 2008 at 9:15 pm
welcome back to china.i read your articles,it is very interesting,especillly what about your livings in fuzhou .because i also live in the city. may you happy when back china.
Vivian N. in California
said,
May 30, 2008 at 11:26 pm
I’m looking forward to your posts from China this summer! Your posts from Fuzhou last year were great – your views of everyday China from the perspective of an American who is familiar with Chinese culture. To see the Olympics and the Chinese reactions to them from your perspective will be very interesting.
English learner
said,
May 31, 2008 at 12:26 am
Cultural question: what’s the difference between “Midwestern” and “cosmopolitan”? Cosmopolitan means multicultural, right? Can’t Midwestern be multicultural as well? Califarnia is multicultural. But it’s Medwestern as well, isn’t it?
Mark
said,
May 31, 2008 at 5:08 am
California is coastal, not midwestern. Midwestern is generally east of the Rockies and west of the Mississippi River. Flat big-sky farm country. Having driven through and flown over the Midwest a few times, I can confidently say it’s not multicultural. Unless you count variations of Caucasian as multicultural. Cosmopolitan means urban, big city, modern, and by extension, multicultural. I don’t exactly know what you mean Ben by “midwestern and cosmopolitan,” but I’m sure it’s an accurate description of Chicago. I’ve been there a couple of times and it always makes me think of the Untouchables.
Benjamin Ross
said,
May 31, 2008 at 9:07 am
@English learner
I second what Mark says. The Midwest is not a very multi-cultural (by American standards) place. It is very down home American, and has comparatively few foreigners and little foreign influence. California would be the opposite end of the spectrum. This is actually why I often recommend to Chinese friends that they add a random midwestern city to their American travel itineraries, in addition to seeing New York and San Francisco.
@Mark
Good overview of the Midwest. As a side note, I’ve always felt that continuing to call the middle of the country the “midwest” could be very confusing to foreigners, but I don’t think there’s any turning back now. When I say “Midwest” in Chinese I usually translate it to 美国中部 (the middle part of the US) rather than 美国中西 (literally American midwest) to avoid any confusion.
As for being cosmopolitan, Chicago very much meets your definition. It is one of the major US ports for immigrants, and easily the most ethnically diverse American city outside of the coasts. The funny thing about Chicago though, is that due to de facto segregation, one can easily spend a weekend here without encountering a single person from a different race or social class. Once you get out and explore the neighborhoods though, there are people and communities from just about every corner of the world here.
Matt
said,
May 31, 2008 at 12:31 pm
@English learner
Also, politically Midwesterners by and large are on the conservative camp. They tend to be more religious and believe that the U.S. should be the global leader. Lots of manufacturing jobs were located in the Midwest when they were outsourced to China and other 3rd world countries. This is just an impression from a Chinese living in the U.S. for many years. Somehow I love Midwesterners and have made some great friends. I live in the South now.
Auberon
said,
May 31, 2008 at 6:39 pm
The Midwest continues well east of the Mississippi River. Chicago wouldn’t be in the Midwest if it stopped there. The Mississippi is more like the middle of the Midwest. The states generally considered to be in the Midwest are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Mark
said,
May 31, 2008 at 9:54 pm
My bad, I was just thinking back to my pioneering days of yore
Vivian N. in California
said,
June 1, 2008 at 2:07 pm
As Ben says, the Midwest is generally downhome America with lots of farms and rural areas. People are generally conservative with regard to politics and religion. It is not multicultural for the most part. It’s very different from the large American cities. I went to college in Michigan, and I go to Michigan and Wisconsin every year to visit relatives.
Historically, Chicago is ethnically diverse in large part due to immigration in the early 1900s from eastern Europe – Polish, Hungarian, German, etc. The immigrants settled into neighborhoods within the Chicago area pretty much by country of origin (and by language) and, as Ben says – developed de facto segregation. African-Americans also settled into their own communities. These days, of course, there are many other cultural communities – including Asian. But, there was no Asian community in Chicago when I was living in the midwest in the 1960s.
California is different. Most of the immigrants are Hispanic and Asian and most have come in the last 50 years. De facto segregation exists to some degree but because there are so many Hispanics and Asians, they exist throughout the main population areas – the bay area (San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose) and southern California (LA, San Diego). I’ve lived in northern and southern California for 40 years, and I’ve seen California develop into a state where, according to the US Census (2006 Census information) white persons not Hispanic are 43% of the population, Hispanics are 36%, Asians are 12% and African Americans are 7%. Although this is the picture state-wide, the degree of cultural diversity is even greater in the major population areas and less so in the rest of the state.
Benjamin Ross
said,
June 1, 2008 at 6:57 pm
@Vivian
I want to make a small correction to your comment. I can’t speak for other Asian communities, but I do know that the Chinese community in Chicago goes back to the 1890’s. The original Chinatown was located in what is now downtown around the intersection of Clark and Van Buren. In the early part of the century, as downtown encroached, most of the Chinese population migrated south to the intersection of Wentworth and Cermak, which at the time was an Italian and Swedish neighborhood. Today the Italians and Swedes are gone, and Cermak and Wentworth is the center of Chicago’s Chinatown.
The other major Asian community in Chicago is on Argyle, which I guess would be considered part of Uptown. It’s sometimes referred to as “New Chinatown” but most of its residents are Vietnamese. I’m not too sure how old this community is though, but I’d imagine not as old as Chinatown.
Tony
said,
June 2, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Nice,!
You can’t stay away from China! Your find any opportunity to return.
Best to find a full time job (with equivalent American pay) and stay there long term!
Sam I Am
said,
June 11, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Thank you Ben!
I’m very happy for you and all of us readers that you specifically can “cover” the Olympics from your uniques perspective.
I’ve been enjoying this blog every since finding out about it in a Time Magazine mention.
Godspeed.
James
said,
June 12, 2008 at 1:36 am
Welcome back!