Striving for More

More than fine, more than bent on getting by.

More than fine, more than just ok. –Switchfoot

Joining the Peace Corps has been something that I’ve dreamed of doing for a long time, and I am truly blessed to be here.  I have to remind myself of this because it is easy to get complacent.  Someone recently asked me what some of the challenges are for me, and ironically my biggest challenge is too much comfort.  During my free time I can do whatever I want, and with a great internet connection and a hard drive of movies and TV shows it is easy to spend a lot of time doing things that are enjoyable but not exactly satisfying and fulfilling.  There is a joke among many PC volunteers that the China should be called Posh Corps because we don’t have the same hardships as volunteers living in mud huts in Africa.  Although I am grateful to have Internet and tons of resources at my fingertips, I don’t want to spend my whole Peace Corps experience on Facebook and watching movies and TV shows.  This weekend I met some great PC volunteers that got here last year, and I was inspired by hearing their stories, about things like determination to get really good at Chinese, passion for learning about China’s history and culture, and the confidence they instilled in their students.

I am going to try to spend every day reading about China.  I found a great-looking blog called http://www.thechinabeat.org/ that has many articles and book reviews about China.  I also found some books about China in my site mate’s apartment.  If you find any interesting book titles or articles about China, please pass them my way.  When I read something interesting, I will be sure to share it here.  I’m especially interested in learning about Chinese minority groups, but anything interesting about the culture or history is also welcome.