The Other Side of the World

When I was young, China was a mystery to me. A far-off land that invoked images of temples and palaces and ancient greatness. I remember a neighbor may have travelled that way at one time, but who knows. We had the “bamboo curtain” keeping us at bay until Nixon. That was the majority of my childhood. Beyond that, China was merely a place on the other side of the world to which we could tunnel if we worked at it hard enough.

I joined the Air Force right out of high school, and I guess my scores were high enough that they wanted me to try this other test, a bunch of gobbledy-gook known as the DLAB — nonsense designed to tell whether a person could more easily grasp and learn a language other than English [Bonus comment: Knowing what I know now, I’m not impressed at all with the DLAB. It goes too much to how someone’s brain may be able to grasp an odd concept, but ignores the true factor that makes for successful second-language learning — personal motivation. If the Air Force recruiter had only looked at my high school transcripts, he would have learned that I had no interest at all in learning a foreign language…but this is a story for another day.]. And I did well enough on that to qualify as a person of interest to the recruiter. “You want to learn a foreign language?” “I guess. Whatever.” (actually, they hadn’t invented the word “whatever,” as a flippant teenage term when I was that age, but I’m writing for a broad audience here).

So I was recruited as a “Cryptologic Linguist,” and sent a roundabout way to Monterey, California (where I celebrated my 19th birthday) to learn Chinese Mandarin.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I have a Masters degree in Teaching Foreign Languages, but I suck at languages. It never caught on with me really (although I’ve probably used that degree more than most in my role as a program manager who works regularly with teachers of foreign languages — I understand and speak their academic language, and I know how it’s all supposed to work). It really is a matter of personal motivation. Dump me anywhere in Korea and (most of) China, and I can get by just fine. Really dump me somewhere in those places, with no lifelines or outside help, and I’ll be functionally-fluent in those languages in a fairly short time. It’s just that I’ve never had to, and haven’t really felt the need. Especially now that I’m almost entirely out of touch with any speakers of Mandarin.

But I love their country. China is so rich in history and culture, and still holds that mystery, so I can’t help it. I’ve been so blessed as to have spent some time there. An entire month in Beijing. A weekend in Xi’an (I love that city). Some time around Kunming. And while I know there were some down times, I have nothing but the best memories of the country and would love to go there again someday.

Still, loving the country doesn’t mean I love their government. The Chinese government should be a case-study in oppression, corruption, and manipulation. Perhaps its history of rule by emperors who were seen as the center of the universe itself gets their Maos and Xis thinking that’s exactly how they should play it too. And yet, like any country, it’s probably not as bad as we think. I was encouraged by this opinion piece in the New York Times this morning by Ian Johnson, “China Keeps Trying to Crush Them. Their Movement Keeps Growing.” There are people in (and out of) China who are still interested in the truth. The piece is far too long to get into here, but I encourage you to read it if you can (I can gift it to you if you really want it).

I’m also very interested in Johnson’s new book, Sparks: China’s Underground Historians and their Battle for the Future. It will go right on my list of books to read as soon as I’m done with the Pulitzers. I’ve always loved history, and with my love of China, I’m sure the book will be good.

In the end, I’m mildly optimistic. The rise of technology has given China’s leaders a means to control the people, but it has also given the people the ability to rise higher than that control. I would like to think that the force of millions will find a way. We’ll see.