China Up-Date

This is not an image of some alien city for an episode of some SciFi TV series, it's a photo of Wuxi, China. A can't imagine a single American, if given this image, who would have correctly identified it. Americans are uber-ignorant of China. It's absolutely a tragedy.

I have a friend who is currently teaching there. In Wuxi, to be exact.

She's recently shared examples on her Facebook wall regarding the wacky way in which her students express themselves in English. This one caught my attention, and our exchange follows.

MY FRIEND: "The biggest difficulty for foreigners adapting to Chinese culture is China glory and profound language."

Yeah, it's all that China glory that I just don't understand.

ME: For me it's the morning glory. I pluck it out every year and every year it's back! -- is that like china glory?

MY FRIEND: If the Morning Glory believed that it was the most perfect flower that ever lived and that the other flowers were mere weeds, then it would have something in common with China Glory.

ME: Well, there's also the simple fact that the morning glory only defines it's realm as from, say 8 am on a clear day to around 11 am. It's not the Center Kingdom of the known universe. But can you disparage china glory for communally expressing a huberus as ego centric as ours? We are, after all, only the sons and daughters of the "Greatest" nation on earth... I love your posts, they not only keep me close to you and your world, but they help me make more profound meaning out of mine. 谢谢!

We all have so much to learn about one another. I'm so grateful that my friend is there in Wuxi, learning and teaching.