Beijing

I arrived last night in Beijing. I'm here on business and love the fact that I get to visit the "motherland" on company dime. Aside from being able to meet all the people I work with on the other side of the globe, I am able to see their way of life and maybe learn something new about living outside of my comfortable home in Seattle. On the 12 hr flight over, I read a book : How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else. Michael Gates Gill shares his story about how he was born in an affluent family, was set up with a job right out of his Ivy League school and for 25 years had a well-paid job at a well-established company. But at 50 years of age, he got fired, and then a few short years later, he got divorced and was diagnosed with brain tumour. He is offered a job at Starbucks and he finds himself being a servant when before he was served. He learns through this experience how much his affluent background sheltered him from the difficulties and realities of life that the average person has to live with every day. It was an inspiring book. And that was that. Surely, I'm not like him. My family wasn't affluent like his.

Then I landed in Beijing. I had to wait for Hmma at the airport since he arrived after me. I sat at Starbucks and watched people come and go. It didn't seem THAT much different from North America. Perhaps Beijing really has come a long way. After Hmma arrived, we went to the hotel, checked in and then took a walk along Wangfujing road which was located next to the hotel. And maybe that's when I started to realize that being born in a middle class family in Canada, even if my parents weren't rich or loaded, is still far more affluent than being born in China or even in other parts of the world. As i read about my friend's experiences in Africa, the realities of life there makes it obvious that I take far too much for granted everyday at home.

Well, i'm grateful for this experience. My coworkers in China are super friendly, so accomodating and also very smart and hard working! i feel like a slacker even as I'm writing up this blog entry in the office (after hours... dang it's 7pm already???)