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Published: September 1st 2007
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G. G. Bridge 1
Stands proud in misty fog. Aug 22nd, 2007 I rush to finish everyday trivial matters before flying to San Fran. Today I feel nothing of the excitment that I used to feel on travels. My senses are all exhausted and numbed by only God knows what. Only starting from this year, Canadians flying to US needs to bring passports. And flying between Canada and US is considered domestic. Going through the US customs is a hassle. The man who sits there in his uniform treats everyone like an idiot.
Aug 23rd, 2007 After breakfast I sit in the Hostel's lobby reading Jack Kerouac's
On The Road. The early morning is chill here, hopefully the sun comes out soon and shines those breezes away. At the same time, about 30 students my age are having a meeting in the lobby.
A girl with a strong Taiwanese accent speaks out, and that her words catch my attention, "US has the most prisoners than any other countries in the world, that's not surprising. I was shock to find out that the second and the third are California and Texas. That is, those two states each have more prisoners than any other countries."
A lady
West meets East
Gate of Chinatown with Asian and Caucasian facial features adds, "Years ago the government used to give out funds to support education in the prison. But now funds are cut. People who remained to help are those who volunteer to do so." From the way she talks, I can almost certain that she is the coordinator of this event.
The Taiwanese girl continues, "Yesterday at San Antonio the I asked the lady why she wanted to volunteer in the prison, and she replied, 'We are all human, everyone is a child.' I found that very touching."
Then other students also talk about their feelings. Most of them have a strong Japanese accent and really have problems expressing things. But the kindness on their faces has already spoken for them.
It turns out that this group of people are in a program organized by the Stanford University. They are all College students from Asia, mostly Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, they travel around in US for a month to learn about public services and urban issues. I was really excited and asked if I can join them for a day. And so glad and lucky, I got the coordinator's permission. The big
Lunch at Zen Center
Lady at Zen Center talks about life. group is divided into three smaller groups specific on Education, Health Services, and Urban Issues. I follow the Education group, and fit in the group pretty fast. Most of them are younger than me by a year or two. They all paid significant amount of money for this trip, it has been three weeks and their experiences have taught them more they could imagine.
There we go. We go to the Zen Center. Learn more about Buddhism from the abbot. The excitment comes afterwards. A lady whose name is Lee comes in and share with us about her unusual stories. She is a buddhist and meditation practitioner, and also a participant in a program that helps prisoners to deal with emotional problems by teaching them meditations. She told us about the depressing feeling that crunches her heart and lungs everytime she walks into those dark cells. It reminds me of the research that I read on the book
The Tipping Point, even the most pacific person can become extremely violent after staying in the prison for just 10 days. Prisoners ask her the way for find peace and happiness deep in there. She also follow them after their releases
H & M
Affortable fashion and mentor them to a better way of living. 80% of the prisoners stay behind bars for more than once. Meaning they will commit another crime and come back again. Imagine no money no family no one willing to hire them plus their addiction to drugs, and now the education oppotunity is taken away, the societly barely give them any chance to become better people. So the cycle goes on and on.
After that powerful and inspiring talk from Lee, we all join Ron and Julie in the kitchen of Zen Center to prepare food for homeless people on the street. Ron and Julie have been doing this for 4 years every thursday afternoon. We cooked veggie curry rice, had enough to fill them in about 200 small paper boxes. Together with juice, energy bars, salads, and canned fruit we packed them in the back of Ron's pick-up truck and drive food-on-the-wheels to the street corners. There, I see another side of life, a different way of living, and people whom I never had the gut to make eye contact with. Those people are like drug addicts on East Hastings of Vancouver, gangs in American movies. Even thinking about
Zen Center
The Garden them gives me an unconscious thrill. But today I come face to face with them, and feel that they are quite gentle and appreciate our help. These people are mostly African Americans. Once again I see how discrimination creat gaps in this society.
One man got mad and start to act crazily and offensively, one Japanese girl in our group got horrified. But we all understand that his behaviors might have altered by drugs, and not out of his conscious mind. Everything calmed down at the end when the food runs out. On our way back to the Zen Center, we start a deep conversation. Everyone agrees that suffering is a life component, having to confront suffering we come to appreciate happiness and kindness even more.
But one thing that I didn't share with them was that I'm not fond of giving out food and money. At least it doesn't really solve any problem. All we need is wisdom. The wisdom to live a righter way, if there's no such things as absolute right and wrong. But one positive thing that we did is that it shows that we do care, and we will continue to be aware
of the plight of their lifes.
At night I'm invited to join their reflection meeting in Sara's room. These young people I luckily encounter them today, and after this week, they'll be all gone back to their own countries and resume their normal lives, but I am sure that this month of social learning and self learning will continue to guide their way in many years to come.
Cheers to all.
Aug 24th, 2007 Walk around Chinatown to sample great tea, and the North Beach to taste coffee, which is described as good that it put Starbucks Coffee to shame. I really have dull tastebuds for coffee, simply don't recognize what is good.
Aug 25th-27th, 2007 The Mother & Daughter reunion
I was a little nervous about meeting mom. But she looks better than I saw her last year. The reunion with mom was joined by lots of her old friends. They catch up with each other's stories and great laughs about the old days.
There were mostly Chinese but borned and raised in Northern Vietnam during the 60s and 70s. The war didn't seem to bring them much sorrow. Instead, their
North Beach
Aka the Italian town memories were filled with loads of funny mischievous behaviours. In the year of 1978, the relations between China and Vietnam got rotten. They all got expelled out of Vietnam in their early 20s. Some, like my mother and father, went back to China. Some took the boat floated over pacific ocean and landed on Vancouver or San Fran as refugees. All of them started as no money no family no language until today living in big houses and drive fancy cars, life can't really treat them any better. It is not difficult to fathom the black and bitter years they all went through.
And their children, about my age now. Grew up luxiously, had great education and attending top schools like Berkeley, which one year's tuition fee is higher than my father's whole year's salary. Renting apartments outside of parents' and paid by the parents. I sincerely appreciate the effort and determination made by our last generation to bring comfort and good education to us. But I also think that in our young ages, to learn how to support ourselves and learn to carry some responsibilities is not a bad thing at all.
I remember a saying, "There's
are two things parents can give to their children.
A root and two wings."
Aug 28th, 2007 Even when I don't have a cent to shop, I will still be a window shopper, a fan of fashion, which is the product of public moods and attidudes. When H&M and Urban Outfitters come to Vancouver, I'm more than ready to abandon Zara and Lululemon. Thank them for making fashion affortable.
Aug 29th,2007 See how it stands proudly in the early morning's misty fog. One example of the art and wit of little earthlings.
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