travelling - part 1
To tell you the truth, Sam didn't look like much when I first met him. His suit jacket draped over his wiry frame like a blanket or poncho. He spoke in measured and tightly controlled English, which didn't do much to mask his strong Chinese accent. His smiles made him look especially odd - the corners of his mouth drew his skin tightly around the bones in his face, sometimes making him look unintentionally manic or skeletal. I guess I just didn't think much of Sam, who to me looked like a Walking Chinese Stereotype. Unfortunately, we were headed out to Colorado together for work, and there was nothing I could do about it. I stuck out my hand grudgingly,
"Hey Sam, it's a pleasure."
I saw him again at the airport, looking peaceful and meditative against a backdrop of our frenzied and stressed out fellow travellers. I shook his hand and took a seat.
"How are you today?" I asked.
He smiled, "Good."
"That's good," I answered flatly. My eyes then rested on his sweatshirt that read in big collegiate letters: BYU. That's weird, I thought, he attended Brigham Young?
"Hey, so...did you go to BYU?" I asked, pointing at his sweatshirt.
"Yeah! I did. I did my undergraduate work in China, and got my masters from Brigham Young when I moved here four years ago."
"Wow, that's amazing!" I answered with some enthusiasm. I had met many people from Brigham Young before, but they had been tall, Mormon, clean-cut and white without exception. I felt ashamed for assuming so much about him.
We began talking in earnest, and after some time, I asked him to tell me his story. Here it is:
Sam was born kicking and screaming to a poor couple in the Chinese countryside. He was good but unexceptional as a student and thus never had any real opportunities to move far from home. He attended vocational school and soon after found himself teaching English in a middle school. The work was fine and he might have stayed there if the pay wasn't so miserable - hardly able to support himself on a teacher's pay, he was compelled to find another job.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world was a Minnesotan named Elizabeth Dresser that was doing the same thing. Elizabeth had just finished graduate school with a degree in political science and was in the market for a job. She attended the university's job fair, and spoke with recruiters that came to fill positions with different schools across the country. She then came across one school that stood out from the rest: the Red Star International School of Arts and Sciences, based in Guiyang, China. She was intrigued. China, she thought, why not? She dropped off her resume and a few weeks later, found herself on a one-way flight to other side of the planet.
Sam's job hunting didn't go as well. He travelled throughout southern China, staying in inns and interviewing with schools but having little success. He was burning through his savings to pay for lodging and resisted the temptation to return to his post at the middle school. Fortunately for Sam, he then applied for a position at Red Star International. His interviewer was Elizabeth, who by this time had been working there for a year and was responsible for interviewing job candidates. Sam got the job and quickly settled himself in Guiyang. He taught English once again, only this time he was making eight times more than he was before.
While Sam enjoyed teaching again, he didn't have much of a social life; after all, he left his friends and family back home. He thus spent a lot of time socializing after work with his fellow English teachers. Many of these teachers came from America, like Elizabeth, and were just as eager to hang out and make friends. Sam and Elizabeth soon found themselves spending a lot of time with each other, and it wasn't long until they fell in love. It happened suddenly and unexpectedly, but I imagine that's how these things generally work anyway.
Within a few months of dating, Sam asked Elizabeth to marry him, and she said Yes(!) They both flew to Minnesota to share the good news. Elizabeth's father was not in great health, so it was with some urgency that she wanted Sam to meet her parents. Her father, normally incoherent from a debilitating disease, was luckily in one of his more lucid states. Her mother was happy for her girl; likewise, Elizabeth's father was excited, but couldn't understand the particulars, like where Sam was from. After a few failed attempts to explain "China" to him, she quickly brought a nearby globe to his side.
"This is where we are, Dad," she said, pointing to Minnesota. She then spun the globe so that her finger rested on the opposite side.
"And this is China. This is where I've been, and this is where Sam's from."
I wasn't there, so I can't speak exactly to her father's reaction. But from what Sam has told me, I imagine that her father was both overjoyed and overwhelmed, intoxicated with happiness and pride but also in awe of Sam and China and the utter improbability of their meeting.
With that, Sam was finished with his story.
"Wow, that's amazing," I responded quietly. By that time, our plane had arrived and was ready for passengers to board. Sam, the former school teacher and I, the town fool, gathered our things and got in line to board the plane.
---------------------------------------------------
The first thing that I noticed about Colorado was all the Koreans - I'm not just talking about the odd couple here and there - I'm talking the BIG Korean plazas complete with supermarkets, video stores, restaurants and churches. Hardly an hour would pass when I wouldn't remark to Sam,
"Look! There's another one! Over there - he's pumping gas!" I'd say, with my finger pointing in the direction of yet another Korean. Sam would oblige me by smiling politely and nodding his head.
When we weren't busy spotting Korean people, we were busy staving off boredom. Life in Colorado just wasn't that exciting. Our after-work routine consisted of driving around aimlessly, looking for a place to eat. That took us to many exciting eateries, such as Black Angus and Ruby Tuesdays. We quickly learned that there was no point - minus the Rocky Mountains and the mile-high altitude, it was no different from a typical, strip-mall infested "Pleasantville." But we weren't having a bad time either. Every night, we feasted on steaks and ribs, sharing stories and enjoying our stay.
The first week quickly came to a close, and I dropped Sam off at the airport. I then learned over the weekend that he wouldn't be returning - the powers that be suspended our project, and I was left to close out the project by myself. Finishing wasn't too difficult, but I was disappointed that we wouldn't finish our small journey together.
I kept busy. Night after night, I drove straight to the hotel, changed and then went out to eat. I didn't care to explore anymore; I settled for nearby diners. When I wasn't watching Warriors games in my hotel room, I was immersing myself in my studies, trying desperately to study for my upcoming exam. I started getting discouraged and lonely. I felt disconnected from my life in California. Small disappointments in my personal life hit harder in that hotel room than they normally would. Gloom raised its ugly head and threatened to make this trip unbearable.
I attribute my ability to stay positive and focused during this time 100% to my friends back in California. Their words of encouragement before and during this time stuck to me like glue. I frequently remembered one that I had with Skunky - he had advised me that I need to be a "TIDAL WAVE OF AWESOMENESS!" The phrase sounds silly, but it resonated with me like you wouldn't believe. It perfectly captures how unstoppable and great I feel when I'm at my best and making things happen for myself and my friends. I repeated that phrase to myself like a motto that week. I managed to stay upbeat and left Denver with a smile.
---------------------------------------------------
It was late in the day and our senior management had already left for home. I decided to see what our associates were up to and started poking around the cubicles in our office. I came across Sam hunched over his computer.
"Sam, what are you doing?"
Sam looked up, surprised.
"Oh, I'm just reading through some training materials."
I gave him a look. "OK - that means you need to leave," I said with a grin.
He nodded in agreement and began packing his bags. And I, once again, conjured an image of a colossal tidal wave, crashing awesomeness on the unsuspecting people below.
"Hey Sam, it's a pleasure."
I saw him again at the airport, looking peaceful and meditative against a backdrop of our frenzied and stressed out fellow travellers. I shook his hand and took a seat.
"How are you today?" I asked.
He smiled, "Good."
"That's good," I answered flatly. My eyes then rested on his sweatshirt that read in big collegiate letters: BYU. That's weird, I thought, he attended Brigham Young?
"Hey, so...did you go to BYU?" I asked, pointing at his sweatshirt.
"Yeah! I did. I did my undergraduate work in China, and got my masters from Brigham Young when I moved here four years ago."
"Wow, that's amazing!" I answered with some enthusiasm. I had met many people from Brigham Young before, but they had been tall, Mormon, clean-cut and white without exception. I felt ashamed for assuming so much about him.
We began talking in earnest, and after some time, I asked him to tell me his story. Here it is:
Sam was born kicking and screaming to a poor couple in the Chinese countryside. He was good but unexceptional as a student and thus never had any real opportunities to move far from home. He attended vocational school and soon after found himself teaching English in a middle school. The work was fine and he might have stayed there if the pay wasn't so miserable - hardly able to support himself on a teacher's pay, he was compelled to find another job.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world was a Minnesotan named Elizabeth Dresser that was doing the same thing. Elizabeth had just finished graduate school with a degree in political science and was in the market for a job. She attended the university's job fair, and spoke with recruiters that came to fill positions with different schools across the country. She then came across one school that stood out from the rest: the Red Star International School of Arts and Sciences, based in Guiyang, China. She was intrigued. China, she thought, why not? She dropped off her resume and a few weeks later, found herself on a one-way flight to other side of the planet.
Sam's job hunting didn't go as well. He travelled throughout southern China, staying in inns and interviewing with schools but having little success. He was burning through his savings to pay for lodging and resisted the temptation to return to his post at the middle school. Fortunately for Sam, he then applied for a position at Red Star International. His interviewer was Elizabeth, who by this time had been working there for a year and was responsible for interviewing job candidates. Sam got the job and quickly settled himself in Guiyang. He taught English once again, only this time he was making eight times more than he was before.
While Sam enjoyed teaching again, he didn't have much of a social life; after all, he left his friends and family back home. He thus spent a lot of time socializing after work with his fellow English teachers. Many of these teachers came from America, like Elizabeth, and were just as eager to hang out and make friends. Sam and Elizabeth soon found themselves spending a lot of time with each other, and it wasn't long until they fell in love. It happened suddenly and unexpectedly, but I imagine that's how these things generally work anyway.
Within a few months of dating, Sam asked Elizabeth to marry him, and she said Yes(!) They both flew to Minnesota to share the good news. Elizabeth's father was not in great health, so it was with some urgency that she wanted Sam to meet her parents. Her father, normally incoherent from a debilitating disease, was luckily in one of his more lucid states. Her mother was happy for her girl; likewise, Elizabeth's father was excited, but couldn't understand the particulars, like where Sam was from. After a few failed attempts to explain "China" to him, she quickly brought a nearby globe to his side.
"This is where we are, Dad," she said, pointing to Minnesota. She then spun the globe so that her finger rested on the opposite side.
"And this is China. This is where I've been, and this is where Sam's from."
I wasn't there, so I can't speak exactly to her father's reaction. But from what Sam has told me, I imagine that her father was both overjoyed and overwhelmed, intoxicated with happiness and pride but also in awe of Sam and China and the utter improbability of their meeting.
With that, Sam was finished with his story.
"Wow, that's amazing," I responded quietly. By that time, our plane had arrived and was ready for passengers to board. Sam, the former school teacher and I, the town fool, gathered our things and got in line to board the plane.
---------------------------------------------------
The first thing that I noticed about Colorado was all the Koreans - I'm not just talking about the odd couple here and there - I'm talking the BIG Korean plazas complete with supermarkets, video stores, restaurants and churches. Hardly an hour would pass when I wouldn't remark to Sam,
"Look! There's another one! Over there - he's pumping gas!" I'd say, with my finger pointing in the direction of yet another Korean. Sam would oblige me by smiling politely and nodding his head.
When we weren't busy spotting Korean people, we were busy staving off boredom. Life in Colorado just wasn't that exciting. Our after-work routine consisted of driving around aimlessly, looking for a place to eat. That took us to many exciting eateries, such as Black Angus and Ruby Tuesdays. We quickly learned that there was no point - minus the Rocky Mountains and the mile-high altitude, it was no different from a typical, strip-mall infested "Pleasantville." But we weren't having a bad time either. Every night, we feasted on steaks and ribs, sharing stories and enjoying our stay.
The first week quickly came to a close, and I dropped Sam off at the airport. I then learned over the weekend that he wouldn't be returning - the powers that be suspended our project, and I was left to close out the project by myself. Finishing wasn't too difficult, but I was disappointed that we wouldn't finish our small journey together.
I kept busy. Night after night, I drove straight to the hotel, changed and then went out to eat. I didn't care to explore anymore; I settled for nearby diners. When I wasn't watching Warriors games in my hotel room, I was immersing myself in my studies, trying desperately to study for my upcoming exam. I started getting discouraged and lonely. I felt disconnected from my life in California. Small disappointments in my personal life hit harder in that hotel room than they normally would. Gloom raised its ugly head and threatened to make this trip unbearable.
I attribute my ability to stay positive and focused during this time 100% to my friends back in California. Their words of encouragement before and during this time stuck to me like glue. I frequently remembered one that I had with Skunky - he had advised me that I need to be a "TIDAL WAVE OF AWESOMENESS!" The phrase sounds silly, but it resonated with me like you wouldn't believe. It perfectly captures how unstoppable and great I feel when I'm at my best and making things happen for myself and my friends. I repeated that phrase to myself like a motto that week. I managed to stay upbeat and left Denver with a smile.
---------------------------------------------------
It was late in the day and our senior management had already left for home. I decided to see what our associates were up to and started poking around the cubicles in our office. I came across Sam hunched over his computer.
"Sam, what are you doing?"
Sam looked up, surprised.
"Oh, I'm just reading through some training materials."
I gave him a look. "OK - that means you need to leave," I said with a grin.
He nodded in agreement and began packing his bags. And I, once again, conjured an image of a colossal tidal wave, crashing awesomeness on the unsuspecting people below.
posted by Nathan at 7:30 PM
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