True Stories

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I don't really think about it this way most of the time but here I am almost completely illiterate. It's an interesting experience - not being able to read books or magazines that I normally love to read. But it's so much more than that. In India I also couldn't read books and magazines, but I could read signs. Here I can't even do that. I need assistance filling out forms or trying to find a place. I just walked up to a machine to get a number for line at a bank and I looked at the machine and said in Chinese. How do I get a number? The man had to press one button for me. It's only one simple button! But there was no way I was to know which button to press.

Joan told us the story of how she grew up today. She grew up during the cultural revolution and the story she told was interesting and depressing. "When I grew up my mother was an interpreter for the English language. At the time that was not an appropriate job and so she was placed in jail for a few years. I missed my mother and often thought of her and how unfair it was for her to be in jail. I wished she could sit and watch me play and I could wrap my arms around her in a big bear hug. When she was released they sent us, along with some other families, to the countryside for a while. I missed my friends in the city and even though my mother had gone through a lot I often wished to be like her and often longed to learn English. My father's heart ached at the thought of his daughter going through the same experiences as my mother and forbade me to study English. At the time I didn't understand why and spent many years angry with him. When I was older my mother developed cancer and I decided to finally obey my father's wishes. I went to school in engineering and got a well paying job but not before my mother died. Her death was hard on me and I looked to religion for help. I still was unhappy with my job even though the pay was good. The job sent me to do more training and there I met an American teacher. I studied English very hard and finally, after many years of suffering, I was able to follow my dream. After a few years I opened my own English school which I was the head of for 6 years before I sold it and moved here to Dalian. It's still going strong with many students."

I'm sitting staring at a huge half of a lobster on a plate. Across from me is a woman who just got out of jail. Two seats over from me is the head of the Dalian mafia. Next to me is a man so drunk he is desperate and can't hold two chopsticks in his hand forget pick anything up with them. He says to me in Chinese "Fuck the police." And truthfully meaning it the rest of the people at the table laugh. Not at him but with him for they also believe in his words. On my other side the man grabs my hand and celebrates the idea that everyone there is together behind his wife and not behind the police. He tells me "This morning a police man I used to know walked in and called me over. 'Hey!' he said to me as if we were friends. 'Who are you?' I responded. 'You don't know me?' 'No, I've never seen you. I replied with a rage building up inside me." Am I trying to convince him that police are good? No. Am I scared? No. Am I worried? No. Why???

I was in my friend Wang's restaurant. It was him sitting next to me holding my hand and his wife who had just gotten out of jail. Craig is the one with the drunken chopsticks and Wang's best friend is the mafia guy. Let me back up a little bit here. Five days ago there was a fight in Wang's restaurant. Two Chinese people yelling and screaming at each other and, as Northerners most often do, throwing punches. As her husband is not present at the time Mrs. Wang decides not to try and get involved. She immediately remembers they are right next door to a police station. So what does Mrs. Wang do? Logically she goes next door to the police station to ask them for help. After a little persuasion they come back to the restaurant with her. They manage to break up the fight and arrest both of the members fighting. However they also arrest one unsuspecting person. Mrs. Wang herself.

Now can you imagine, being arrested after having asked the police for help? The insanity of the idea still hasn't really hit me. Imagine calling the police as a robber tries to rob your store. The police come in and arrest both the robber and you. What?!?! Today was her first day out of jail and the party is for her welcoming home. Everyone at the table knows what the police did and are a bit furious at them. Everyone. Including myself. I've dealt with corrupt police long enough in India to know exactly how insane and illogical they can be. The party of us have toasted to Mrs. Wang many many a time and are all there to show our support for her.

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