My Parents Witnessed A Potential Bombing In Tiananmen Square

Today, I sent my parents to Tiananmen Square for their first taste of Beijing culture.

Today, an unidentified man blew up his car (and himself) at the entrance for an unknown reasons.

Because my parents were on site, I was able to flood my WeChat IMMEDIATELY with photos and comments to inform the rest of my foreign friends about what’s going on. Shockingly, none of them had heard of the bombing. Nor could anyone find any information online about it.

My parents took this picture only minutes before the bomb went off. Fortunately, they quickly became lost and wandered in a different direction.

This strikes a particularly sensitive cord for my family because we lost my Dad’s sister, Dora Menchaca, in the September 11th attacks. Her plane hit the Pentagon.

I’m finding it difficult to process this experience at the moment because if anything would have happened, I would be responsible for my three surviving siblings. I can barely keep myself alive… how I could possibly care for three other human beings at the age of 22 is literally unthinkable.

However, immediately after the attacks, my friends swooped in without even being asked. My roommate (who’s a saint) organized a private car to pick up my parents and directed their route to the other side of Beijing. A crossfit friend is leaving work early to track them down and settle their nerves. Another boss/friend just gave me the night off of Business English to be with them instead.

Beijing is a family. We take care of our own. I cannot even begin to articulate how much love I have for this city and my friends.

But back to business.

Here’s my first China test to see what gets through. I’ll add a follow up article in a week to discuss what really happened versus what we’re being told here in Beijing.

A few questions to keep in mind for all you critical thinkers out there:
What does censorship really mean in China? Is it as “bad” as we think? Or is the Western World being duped into believing our own versions of propaganda? Because no government is perfect. Some are just more upfront about it.

Why I’m Studying Spanish In China

So on my perpetual journey to nowhere in particular, I’ve come to a few conclusions:

1. Communication is important
2. Understanding what is being communicated is even more important
3. Trust is importanter…

English is hard. That’s why I’m teaching it.

After casting my networking net of greatness into the vast abyss that is China, I’ve discovered that the age-old-saying, “it doesn’t matter what you studied at University…” tale is TRUE… Unless your major was Chinese.

Here’s the skinny, if you speak Chinese, people are more likely to pick you up as a project (despite your lack of skills) because you are able to communicate with the team AND whom ever they are doing business with. Also, people trust other people that they can communicate with properly; the risk of a misinterpretation becomes significantly lower. With four tones, mistranslations between foreigners and the Chinese community is insane. I’ve been taken to completely wrong destinations simply because my tone went up instead of down.

My mentor/roommate gauge that it will take 2 years of INTENSIVE Chinese to really become fluent… and they know this because they are fluent.

But I can’t go back to school AND be a full time student because I need to feed myself.

Sucks to suck, I guess.

Sometimes I feel like I missed the boat and now I’m constantly playing catch up.

But since I speak Spanglish-kind of-I have decided to take a sharp turn left. I’m resuming my Spanish studies (in addition to continuing my Chinese) so I can increase my international opportunities… in China.

It sounds weird, but I need to have faith in my mentors and myself.

Here is why: I won’t be able to become fluent in Chinese any time soon, BUT, there’s still hope for Spanish. In my dreamatorium (“Community” reference), I’ve fantasized about being part liaison community here in China whom bridges the language gap between three of the most common languages in the world: English, Spanish, and Chinese. There are tons of people who speak Chinese AND English… but who’s addressing the needs of South America?

Find your niche market and run with it.

Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities to practice in Beijing! There’s a huge Latino community in Beijing (why didn’t anyone send me the memo sooner?) and everyone wants to desperately retain their cultural identity in such a different world.

INTERNATIONAL NOTICE: Turns out that the new Visa requirements for China (altered the Summer 2013) require recipients to be 24 to receive a working Visa…

…Which then makes me ineligible to receive a Z visa… UNLESS the company has government connections (such as my teaching company). This means I’m stuck being a teacher (whomp) for the next year, BUT I’m going to use this opportunity to figure out these languages and zero in on what I really want to study at Business school. At least I’ve narrowed down where I want to study: United Kingdom or Hong Kong. Now I just need to decide in what.

Someone ship me some books on international trade and tax regulation please. I don’t trust the Chinese government to NOT alter them here…

My China Mantra: You Are Enough

My life feels like a whirlpool at the moment. At all times of the day, I am furiously scribbling notes into my shitty Chinese phone to remember once I get a chance to sit for 10 minutes…

Things to do:
• Email Mom a list of things I want her to bring from home.
• Buy eggs
• Buy a jacket, winter clothes
• Pay rent (…for the next 4 months???…IN CASH??) Kill me.

My desire to make rent for my new apartment absolutely crushed my desire to be warm or eat properly. Priorities are king.

Those notes were from a week ago.

I currently have 3 jobs… 4 if you count networking/socializing to find a better job so I don’t have to work 3 jobs. Lets count.

1. Daytime Kindergarten Teacher
2. Business English Tutor For An Engineering Company
3. Free Lance Marketing/Blogging

Right now, my quality of life isn’t too bad. I still find time to socialize and I MAKE time to lift shit up and put it down. I still fit in my daily dose of day-dreaming (2-4 hours) and sometimes I get to eat more than street food! LOOK MOM! I’M MAKING IT.

Today I saw something on the Facebook that really struck a cord with me:

I control my happiness. My thoughts are what I am. Attitude is more important than circumstances. Never be afraid. All I need is faith in myself. I belong to something greater than myself. We are all connected. Connections are the most important parts of life. Everything will be okay. Love exists. That’s pretty much who I am.

– Unknown.

SHOCKER! It was one of my Crossfit buddies that posted it in his status… he’s about to have his first kid.

Author’s Note: Good luck bro.

For me, it’s rare that I find really calming things on the Internet. I’m on the Facebook, I read the Buzzfeed, and I watch Colbert Report regularly, even though I’m 3,000 miles away AND BECAUSE OF THIS, the future seems more and more bleak. Technology has killed the romantic in me because human stupidity goes vial instantly.

… But this motivational quote is different… Lets read it again.

I control my happiness. My thoughts are what I am. Attitude is more important than circumstances. Never be afraid. All I need is faith in myself. I belong to something greater than myself. We are all connected. Connections are the most important parts of life. Everything will be okay. Love exists. That’s pretty much who I am.

– Unknown.

It’s just so perfectly simple. It doesn’t make a grand lavish declaration that he or she will eventually end world hunger or stop global racism, but rather, it takes ownership. Ownership of one’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions WHILE recognizing that we are only capable of so much! My happiness should be able to filter through the hell-that-is-post-graduation if it’s really authentic. And to be honest, I think it is.

If I could give any piece of advice to wanna-be-wanderers, it would be this:

…You are enough…

Once you are able to accept that you are no more and no less than what you were intended to be, everything else will fall into place in whatever country you choose to live in. Despite the language barrier, kindness and humility will always be able to shine through your eyes.

Let me be clear. While I understand that depression is a chemical imbalance in your brain, being a shitty human being is a choice. I’ve watched friends and family go through hell and back, and still, they’ve been able to maintain their relationships and general decency.

 

Attitude is more important than circumstances.

 

I’ve been repeating that in my head for the last hour.

So I’m poor right NOW. So is every other 22 year old without a trust fund. What a novel concept!! I should write for GIRLS. Being poor is not forever… but having the opportunity to wander the world is definitely on a time limit.

With that being said, someone please send me a North Face jacket.

…Let’s take a closer reading…

Never be afraid.

Done and done. I am too stubborn to admit I’m afraid of anything 90% of the time; therefore, I am not afraid of anything. That’s some LSAT logic you can take to the bank.

All I need is faith in myself.

Because at the end of the day, the only person I have to go to sleep with is myself. Be proud of what you accomplished and have faith that you will accomplish more in the future.

Everything will be okay.

All pain is temporary. All suffering comes to an end. This is my mantra of choice when I’m crushing a hero WOD at my CrossFit Box.

Love exists.

Take it how you will.

That’s pretty much who I am.

 

“I’m A Little Traveler:” Hosting A Game Show At School

“I’m A Little Traveler:” The Knowledge Of The UK Competition

I love me some cultural exchange. That’s why I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of my school’s international “game show.” It’s critical that kids understand early on that there is a whole world out there. It needs to be wandered and appreciated-not conquered or invaded.

At my school, the English teachers planned out a game show called: “I’m A Little Traveler: The Knowledge Competition of the UK.” We had real microphones (I felt like Beyonce), bells, a score board, and cameras EVERY WHERE. ALL of the parents took pictures on the biggest DSL cameras they could find this side of the Atlantic Ocean… WHILE they recorded it on their phones for QQ (Chinese equivalent of Facebook). It was pretty damn cute if you ask me. Good thing I did my hair.

The kids crushed it, the parents thought my English was insanely funny-silly foreigner-and all of the teachers were able to showcase how well their kids were learning English and history. This gave me extra brownie points with our leader (Chinese equivalent of a “boss”) and I was able to take some time off of work-just because.

We, in any-where-but-China, forget is that many major Chinese cities are contracted (by-law) to only have one child per family. For that reason, Chinese parents have ONE SHOT to get it right. If you mess it up, then you and your family becomes the laughing stock of the community.

But, no pressure… SAID NO ONE IN CHINA EVER.

That kind of pressure is INSANE to process (to me) because for the last several years, my parents have been allowing me to gallivant around the world-unsupervised-trusting me to make smart life and career decisions. They have 3 other kids that can “make it” if I become a radical liberal hippy (which I already am) and disappear into the jungles of Asia.

Which reminds me… I need to get my rabies shots before I do that.

Please enjoy these festive photos of me (and friends) hosting the game show.