There Goes Bambi…

As I left the house this morning to get food at the supermarket, a frightful sight greeted me.

Just outside my door was a decapitated deer hung-up on a hook. Its attendants must have been busy selling parts of it early in the morning, as there was not much left of this poor deer aside from its bloodied head and hoofs.

As my kids and I looked on, I thought to myself…”Wow! This is not something I’d see too often back home…” It also reminded me of the time a few months ago when I had to dispose of our rabbit that had unfortunately died at home. Minutes after placing the dead rabbit in the garbage bin outside, I had witnessed in horror someone getting it out in triumph and running back home undoubtedly to cook it for that night’s dinner.

I am wondering, was that deer road-kill? Was it one of the deer from the local zoo that may have died from disease or an accident? It may have been raised for meat too but if it were, I would see deer meat for sale more regularly around here.

Anyway, one thing is for sure, nothing goes to waste in this country. There are no recycling programs here as you would find in the western world, as there is no real need for it. The poor pick every bit of paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, etc., out of garbage bins as it all has some sort of value, either for their own use or for resale.

As I walked on to the supermarket to buy overly packaged food, another thought came to my mind…one man’s trash is certainly another man’s treasure…

Things are looking up, Spring is around the corner!

One thing that is starting to get to me is the amount of poverty I see around this town. There is such a huge difference between the rich and the poor. The ones that are poor are VERY poor and it is a bit depressing to see after a while. Sure, China is growing fast and doing well generally. Its economy is the fastest growing economy in the world and people’s standards of living are increasing exponentially. Sure, the vast majority of people here do not go to bed hungry anymore and thing generally are a 100% times better than they were just a short 15 years ago. However, in provinces such as Jilin, well the entire North East for that matter, there is a lot of poverty, some of it extreme. This area has a heck of a long way to go in order to catch up to the rest of China.

I think what is making it seem worse for me is the long dragging winter. Things have been been generally cold, grey and dirty for the last five months and seeing people’s misery is compounded by this type of weather. I long for the spring to arrive and start seeing greenery, flowers and breath fresh new air. I think it will make this whole place look much better and happier. It will not change the reality of poverty but at least it may promote a bit more hope.

Where are you Spring? A fresh renewal is just around the corner…I can’t wait!

Looking for his share of the wealth…

I guess poverty is all around us. China certainly has it share of it. A lot of people fall between the cracks and the disparity between the rich and poor is growing at an alarming rate. Even in a small town like Tonghua, seeing 600 series Mercedes Benz cars driving past desparate people like the ones I saw yesterday is all way too common.

In this land of opportunity, relatively few have access to these opportunities and fewer still will have the ability to make any real money with them. However, the ones that do, do so in a very big way.

I just hope this guy can get enough of a share of the wealth to finish his days not getting too much of a raw deal.