My mind is alternating between varieties of interesting alternatives to write about. I have quite a bit of interesting ideas regarding my recent revelations regarding Dostoevsky and Thoreau. I also have to spend a little time recounting the unbelievable time Cory and I had last weekend in Chongqing. I feel that whenever I have a moment in which my students’ prove to me their incredible strength of will it is important to share as well. Of course, there are a couple of other important events which have occurred in the world since my last blog. My ideas regarding the O. B. Laden death I will cover in short because I am at this point unable to reflect greatly on it. I am also going to give a quick shout out to all of the friends and families getting ready to celebrate Mother’s Day. I have to give special thanks for my own mother who has always been a source for light in my life! Love you Mom and wish I could be there to celebrate with you!
First off, my recent ideas regarding F.D. and H.D.T. I was interested in an idea regarding Dostoevsky’s exposition for a utopian society. Dostoevsky believed greatly in the power of redemption within a Christian God. He believed that the whole society should function within a unitary state sponsored religion. This Unitarian religion would work as the arm of the state in all matters both secular and religious. Dostoevsky was extremely concerned with crime and the punishments which were too heavily levied against his fellow countrymen. In his greater search for understanding he believed that only through the rectitude of a Christian judge and jury could his countrymen face equal punishment, acquittal, redemption, etc.
Now, the practicality of such a system in the world today is obviously less exclusive than it was at that time. Dostoevsky is writing in a time where Russia was strongly a Christian faith based society as a whole. In the world today, such a system would be deemed an extremely archaic form of jurisprudence to say the least due to the large number of faiths and beliefs today.
Thoreau also was writing during this same time period in America. His stark criticisms of the government, laws, criminal treatment, environment, etc all reflect a similar desire for greater understanding and reflection. Regarding crime and punishment these two great thinkers have the same major question in mind; “How best to judge a criminal in society”? Both thinkers believe that only through the unbiased judgment of one’s heart will people actually best be able to judge their actions. In this way, F. D. argues for a unitary state; whereas, Thoreau does not offer an expository answer to the problem. Rather, he muddles around the inefficiencies and problems of the system within America. I do not know what I feel at large about these ideas yet. However, I feel that it is very interesting that both writers were so gravely concerned with the efficacy of the less fortunate.
Now, to the fun stuff! Cory and I were very excited to spend last weekend in Chongqing. Being that it was only my second time in the city I was really pumped to take a break. The weather was swelteringly hot for our first two days. Unfortunately, our hostel did a terrible job of over booking this holiday weekend. Nonetheless, Cory and I were able to book a hotel with the help of some of Chinese friends. Overall, the process was extremely arduous due to the amount of paperwork in which was needed to fill out by the hotel verifying our Chinese residence permits. The patience of our Chinese friends was tremendous as they helped the hotel attendants fill out the forms in their entirety.
Cory and I spent time at all of the city’s major tourist attractions frequented often by foreigners. We enjoyed walking around, going out late, running, the western food, etc. In all we did some serious spending of Chinese Yuan. Our living expenses in Rongchang are so small that we both felt that it was okay for us to splurge a little bit. The weekend was capped off with a nice bus ride back with one of our Chinese friends who spent the May (International Labor Day) holiday in Chongqing as well.
When Cory and I came back on Monday we were met with the incredible news of O. B. Laden’s final demise. Being not able to understand all of the details yet I will not comment at length regarding this event. All I want to say is that whenever something happens it is important not to judge any conclusions which relate to the future. Looking into the crystal ball and trying to discover what will happen is a natural human weakness and should be made only with extreme caution in mind. I can only hope that something good can come of the demise of a mad man hell-bent on the destruction of innocent civilians in his quest for a global “lesser” Jihad.
I deviated from my prescribed introduction a little in order to underline the importance of the last point I was going to write about. Due to the recent global news Cory and I thought that it was essential that we spend our classes out discussing about O.B. Laden and 9/11.
Following a brief introduction regarding the events Cory and I made sure that we spent time discussing the great impact that this event had had on our own personal lives. We followed up this question by having our students (we joined both of our classes together during this period) write about something big in their own lives. We prefaced our discussion by elucidating the fact that the event could be anything and did not have to be personal in nature. Cory and I even went as far to say that if someone wanted to share something that was personal that the students needed to remember the power of respecting each other’s dignity. Regardless of this opening I had no idea what was about to be shared this night.
I was lifted up by the incredible strength of many of my students describing the horrific events of the 2008 Sichuan province earthquake. In great detail a couple of my students described the terror in which they felt during this terrible disaster. In reality, their strength really encouraged me about the trust my students had in our positive classroom sharing environment. I initial was a little uncomfortable at the length in which my students shared about these details. Not for any time constrains or even personal uneasiness. Rather, I was actually feeling their pain consciously as our students struggled reading their notes at times regarding the earthquake.
The emotions were palpable to Cory and I who usually comment at length about the details of our students. On this night, we both kept quiet which gave the evening a somber ending. All I and Cory could do after their presentations was to try and console them to the fact that they were very brave for sharing in front of the class. All in all, I was extremely proud of my student’s strength this evening and always encouraged by their discipline!
This weekend Cory and I will be heading back to Beibei (the major Southwest University Campus). I am very excited to relive some of my first memories of being in China again. Cory and I will also be meeting up with many of the foreigners in the area. Some of which I have only seen but once before. Wishing everyone a happy and festive Mother’s Day back in America!
Best,
E.K.
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