slowly getting a peek into the psyche of the expats in china. part of them hates this place, the corruption, the pollution, the efficiency of a communist government that borders on a freak show. but part of them is addicted to this place, the opportunities, the servants, the food, the strip bars, the prostitutes.
in my head i start to compare the expats in japan vs. the expats in china. one crowd is more innocent, a tad aloof, more intellectual. the other more complex, deep into the pleasure and the pains of this world, more material. maybe, maybe.
i look at them and i see not the china of the future but the china of the past. their jadedness provokes a resignation in me - china is so big, so vast, so complex, how can anyone believe that it's going to change? i'm sure that that's a frustration that i share with these expats who are attracted to brand china.
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