There is a strong causation between living abroad (or living away from home) and being home sick. That is, because one is living abroad, one beomes home sick. Most would likely agree with above. Now your real argument is if one is so home sick, then one should not have even attempted to leave home at the first place, or one should go back to where s/he originally came from so that s/he won’t be home sick anymore, and there is literally nothing to prevent one from going back home to this effect.
Haha, this is a fallacy as it takes a really simplistic view of the situation without even considering other factors of life.
Let me start from the beginning. Why leave home? The reasons can be many folds. For me, they are three folds. Firstly, my parents encouraged and literally prepared my going overseas. Secondly, I, as a frog in the well, wanted to see the outside world (remember the movement of Chinese across borders was only eased some years ago). Thirdly and bluntly, I looked for economic prosperity and equal opportunity. Now that I have settled in Australia, a place where I can enjoy family life, a place where I can exercise democratic rights, a place where offers equal opportunity to a great extent, I really appreciate my parents’decision all those years ago, otherwise even I could fare well economically in China as my sister says repeatedly when she tries to persuade me going back, but I would have missed all those wonderful aspects of the other side of the fence. Life is simply not just money.
Am I home sick? I am very home sick. From time to time, little things can trigger my memory and emotion, take me back to that continent, take me back to my relatives and friends. I miss them dearly and I become sicker and sicker as I age, especially after I have become a father myself. My parents live on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, this is the very reason why every year we choose China over any other destinations for holiday. I promised myself before I should at least see my parents once a year and whenever possible, I would take my family back home and spend time together even just for a week or two. So far, we have managed to do that for the last 7 years and we are planning to go again this Easter.
Should I go back to China for good because I am home sick? My emotion says “Yes”, my mind says “No”. The final outcome is “No”, at least in the foreseeable future. Having Lived overseas for years, I must admit I have changed considerably, including my constitution. I cannot and do not wish to change again to fit into certain aspects of that culture and society. Unless one day, it provides equal opportunities to all citizen on merits regardless of their background; it provides better and fairer social and justice structures so that the weak and the less endowed are protected; it provides certainty that by working honestly, hard and smart, one can get there, I will certainly choose to move back without any hesitation.
As shown above, I am very home sick, but yet I still choose to live away. In summary, being home sick and living abroad are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Perhaps they are the two extremes, yet there are still a lot of options one can take in between these two spectrums. Remember Bush’s notorious statement that ”you are either with us or against us.” Fortunately, this world is a little more diverse and complicated than what he thinks.
Havign said all that, I do have two agreements with you.
I agree with you that da zi nang’s photos in the concerned posting do not provide a well-rounded and balanced presentation of today’s China. In fact, I think she has overdone the photos, perhaps that is what she can see and how she sees it, but I have not doubted her intention whatsoever. As she says, she has left motherland many years ago, maybe for this very reason, she has been struck by the huge contrast when visiting there, and understandably, she chose to express China in such way. Of course, most of us know that there is a difference between looking from a distance and being in it, but I will leave that to someone else to elaborate.
I further agree with you that we (ignorant Chinese ;)) have hypocritical mentality, thanks to the influence of traditional philosophy. Hey, but who does not?
Haha, this is a fallacy as it takes a really simplistic view of the situation without even considering other factors of life.
Let me start from the beginning. Why leave home? The reasons can be many folds. For me, they are three folds. Firstly, my parents encouraged and literally prepared my going overseas. Secondly, I, as a frog in the well, wanted to see the outside world (remember the movement of Chinese across borders was only eased some years ago). Thirdly and bluntly, I looked for economic prosperity and equal opportunity. Now that I have settled in Australia, a place where I can enjoy family life, a place where I can exercise democratic rights, a place where offers equal opportunity to a great extent, I really appreciate my parents’decision all those years ago, otherwise even I could fare well economically in China as my sister says repeatedly when she tries to persuade me going back, but I would have missed all those wonderful aspects of the other side of the fence. Life is simply not just money.
Am I home sick? I am very home sick. From time to time, little things can trigger my memory and emotion, take me back to that continent, take me back to my relatives and friends. I miss them dearly and I become sicker and sicker as I age, especially after I have become a father myself. My parents live on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, this is the very reason why every year we choose China over any other destinations for holiday. I promised myself before I should at least see my parents once a year and whenever possible, I would take my family back home and spend time together even just for a week or two. So far, we have managed to do that for the last 7 years and we are planning to go again this Easter.
Should I go back to China for good because I am home sick? My emotion says “Yes”, my mind says “No”. The final outcome is “No”, at least in the foreseeable future. Having Lived overseas for years, I must admit I have changed considerably, including my constitution. I cannot and do not wish to change again to fit into certain aspects of that culture and society. Unless one day, it provides equal opportunities to all citizen on merits regardless of their background; it provides better and fairer social and justice structures so that the weak and the less endowed are protected; it provides certainty that by working honestly, hard and smart, one can get there, I will certainly choose to move back without any hesitation.
As shown above, I am very home sick, but yet I still choose to live away. In summary, being home sick and living abroad are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Perhaps they are the two extremes, yet there are still a lot of options one can take in between these two spectrums. Remember Bush’s notorious statement that ”you are either with us or against us.” Fortunately, this world is a little more diverse and complicated than what he thinks.
Havign said all that, I do have two agreements with you.
I agree with you that da zi nang’s photos in the concerned posting do not provide a well-rounded and balanced presentation of today’s China. In fact, I think she has overdone the photos, perhaps that is what she can see and how she sees it, but I have not doubted her intention whatsoever. As she says, she has left motherland many years ago, maybe for this very reason, she has been struck by the huge contrast when visiting there, and understandably, she chose to express China in such way. Of course, most of us know that there is a difference between looking from a distance and being in it, but I will leave that to someone else to elaborate.
I further agree with you that we (ignorant Chinese ;)) have hypocritical mentality, thanks to the influence of traditional philosophy. Hey, but who does not?
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