"Go East, Young Man"——西方带路党力作

Go East, Young Man
By JONATHAN LEVINE
Published: January 8, 2012 @ The New York Times
http://t.cn/SaUhpn

NOT long ago, I was stuck in a dead-end job near Greenwich, Conn. I was in my early 20s, overeducated with a series of non-performing degrees from New York University and Columbia, and frustrated. When I saw the Occupy Wall Street protesters on TV, fed up with the economic status quo in the United States, I saw myself.

Or rather, I saw my old self, before I figured a way out.

To the occupiers and their sympathizers, I say vote — not with the ballot, but with your feet. Now that your encampment has disbanded, don’t just leave Zuccotti Park: leave America.

For China. At least, that’s what I did. It was the best decision I ever made.

In February of last year, I moved to Beijing, having landed a job teaching American culture and English at Tsinghua University. While I was not a global neophyte, I had never set foot in Asia. China had 1.3 billion people, and I didn’t know any of them.

But now, after living almost a year here, I feel that China is my second home. My work is fulfilling and my workload is manageable enough to give me time to travel. I have found friends among China’s large expatriate community, my colleagues and, of course, my eager students. The food is outstanding and caters to both the gastronomically meek and the profoundly adventurous.

Most of all, my experiences here have been enriched by the Chinese people themselves. Their patience, courtesy and hospitality leave me in no hurry to return home anytime soon.

And guess what? I’m not so special.

China wants you. Job prospects are abundant. The effects of the Great Recession of 2008 may be felt in the United States for years, but they barely scratched China. Demand for native English speakers is white-hot. ChinaJob.com, TheBeijnger.com and Dave’s ESL Cafe are just a few of the places where you can search for work.

There are problems here, of course. China is a nation that unapologetically rejects Western democracy — and yet I am surprised to find that Chinese citizens and the news media have as much freedom as they do. For my money, CCTV News English, a channel offered by China’s major state television broadcaster, is more fair and balanced than Fox News.

Pollution is bad. Beijing, like much of China, is often enveloped in what local residents euphemistically call “mist.” But there are nice days, too, more than you might think.

Many critics have rightly pointed out the shocking failures of the Chinese food safety system — the most famous being the tainted-baby-formula scandal of 2008. But what you may not know is that China meted out swift justice in that case to the perpetrators. That is more than can be said for the handling of many corporations in the United States that have harmed their consumers and remain unpunished.

We live in grim times, but fortune favors the bold. So if you are reading this from some occupied encampment, a soul-crushing cubicle, your parents’ basement or anywhere else in America really, maybe you should consider paying me a visit.

I’ll buy you a duck.

Jonathan Levine is a lecturer in American studies and English at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

敝校输出价值观了，教坏了美国小孩怎么办？

想到了马政委在CBA的状况~~

不错，不错，说得很好。

来吧来吧，我们好过去

神作。自带干粮的白人五毛。。。

哈哈，居然能看到外国同志，我这个自带干粮的五毛党表示异常欣喜啊！
一直觉得CCTV News English有一部分主持口音有点儿诡异……不晓得外国友人怎么认为的……不过这个台还蛮有趣的，广告大多数是打某个城市什么的，和其它频道超级不一样诶。

哈哈，居然能看到外国同志，我这个自带干粮的五毛党表示异常欣喜啊！
一直觉得CCTV News English有一部分主持口音有点儿诡异……不晓得外国友人怎么认为的……不过这个台还蛮有趣的，广告大多数是打某个城市什么的，和其它频道超级不一样诶。
cape 发表于 2012-1-10 22:57

哟您是自带干粮的啊

哟您是自带干粮的啊
zach 发表于 2012-1-11 13:50

是的啊，不过总得来还说是没意见不评价的情况居多，我对五毛和美分争论的问题大多数毫无兴趣啦，他们的阵地我都很少去，有这个空的时候一般都在玩别的…总得来说我还没完全形成基本的立场，觉得自己对太多东西了解非常不够了。但是确实仅有的几次比较细的问题争论上观点都是比较五毛的。
为啥，从来没有人给我发过美分呢…要是出了国了解了更多会变也未必，哈哈。

不过我突然有点觉得主楼那个外国人还未必是自带干粮的，说不定还真的拿了五毛…

是的啊，不过总得来还说是没意见不评价的情况居多，我对五毛和美分争论的问题大多数毫无兴趣啦，他们的阵地我都很少去，有这个空的时候一般都在玩别的…总得来说我还没完全形成基本的立场，觉得自己对太多东西了解非常不够了。但是确实仅有的几次比较细的问题争论上观点都是比较五毛的。
为啥，从来没有人给我发过美分呢…要是出了国了解了更多会变也未必，哈哈。

不过我突然有点觉得主楼那个外国人还未必是自带干粮的，说不定还真的拿了五毛…
cape 发表于 2012-1-11 16:20

人家不用拿五毛啊。

工资高，工作无压力，还被中国土包子尊敬，生活各种便利，就是比在美国时活的爽很多。