It Just Needs Hard Work to Grind an Iron Rod into a Needle
It is my last week in China. As I say goodbye to friends and colleagues that I have met over my ten weeks here, I reflect over all I have learned. The first thing I learned, is that China won't fit into a neat categorical box. Although most people think of China as a Communist country because it is led by the Communist Party it isn't exactly true. Like Deng Xiaoping said, China has "socialism with Chinese characteristics." These characteristics include the more than two thousand years of history that the civilization has. For as much as we want to, we cannot look at China without also looking at its past. Every moment of its past has shaped its present and its future. Despite the rapid economic growth that happened in the later part of the 20th century into the beginning of the 21st, China still holds onto its historical and cultural roots. For example, although much of China is categorized as Buddhist, the Buddhism practiced is mixed with the ancestral and god worship which has dominated China for centuries. Buddhism in China is no longer just Buddhism, but rather something distinctly Chinese much like everything else here.
Something else from the past which has continued into the present is the sense of hard work in the Chinese people. In many of the old stories, the protagonist is a poor, young man who is very intelligent and works hard and ends up doing well on the civil service exam. This allows him to get a good position and meet a wealthy woman and fall in love and have a happily ever after. These stories demonstrate that to get good things in life the Chinese should work hard and study hard so that they can do well. If they do so, there is no obstacle that they cannot overcome. These tales are much different than those told in the United States where the protagonist is virtuous which gives them favors of someone powerful who helps them achieve happiness. The Chinese stories hold hard work to be the most important characteristic while the United States has virtue being the most important.
Work this week included finishing up projects and researching articles on several topics. I finished up my memorandum on violence, bullying, and sexual violence in schools. I also researched sexual violence against children in armed conflicts. Something that I found surprising was that there are several instances of third-party assistance, such as humanitarian personnel, sexually exploiting girls and women. It did not surprise me that both sides in armed conflicts often sexually exploited girls and women since sexual violence in war zones has been prevalent throughout the world throughout history. I just never thought that the people who were coming to help the refugees were also harming them. One would think that these organizations would do multiple background checks and trainings to make sure that their personnel would help, not further harm, already traumatized people. These organizations are trying to change their practices and protocols to make sure that this does not happen again. Sadly, it is too late for those who were already harmed by the people who they thought were there to help.
There are so many things that I have learned in China. Many of which can't be categorized like my host country. I cannot wait until I am able to return to the country where 只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针(it just needs hard work to grind an iron rod into a needle).
