Hating This Place Is Fun

As you have probably noticed, my attitude toward China and my studies is much different than during my first semester here. I’ve realized that hating this place sometimes is okay, and is, in fact, part of the fun of being here.

My friend Andy has a similar attitude. By similar, I mean his attitude is: “Hating this place is fun.”

In class today, Andy complained about how all of our lessons are the same: MaLi and DaWei visit a Chinese family. WangFeng and TianZhong go out to eat. MaLi and WangFeng go to the hospital.

Andy says he’s tired of learning about these things. “Why don’t we have good lessons, like ‘Our system of government sucks,’ or ‘We are totally racist’?” he asked.

Then, during our class break, Andy and I went to a little shop on campus for a snack. “Oh, do they have today’s China Daily?” he asked me. “I’m all out of toilet paper.”