A year ago today.

It's an interesting thought that a year ago today I was sharing a bed with a Chinese girl, biking to school, living of NZ$2 noodles and fried rice, and hand scrubbing clothes daily!

About to go into this 300 level Chinese Exam at 9.30am tomorrow morning naturally I can only think of being back in the midst of the Chinese culture! The rickshaws, the lack of driving rules, the utter confusion about the use of a seat belt and the like. The food and the stalls, the chickens and the sheer amount of people. And the lack of internet access that disabled me from being able to keep up to date with news feeds from stuff let alone keeping up with this blog! It clearly had ceased about a month ago this time last year.

Which implies how hard it is to access international news in China. One of the tactics the government has is simply making it what the chinese call "ma fan" essentially it means difficult, in a sense that one opts not to bother. It corresponds with a topic that I have spent a solid amount of the last 72 hours studying: "To suffer losses is good fortune" and "Ignorance is Bliss."

The latter is probably of the most interest. It's the 'turn a blind eye' theory, and apparently that is bliss? A lack of information of say the Egyption Revolution that just seemed to be unheard of in China at the time, is bliss? Knowledge of the revolution had the potential to create a few discrepencies such as political activism, but is this not the peoples right? Or is it in the best interest for everyone to keep the population oblivious, and 'ignorant', and continue on with life as is, without knowledge that they could have the ability to change their circumstance?

Is ignorance really bliss?

As far as they know, this is all they've ever had, all they've got, and all they're going to have. This is China. And they are happy with that. And proud of their home country. To a westerners eyes it seems incredibly hopeless and immobile, but to a Chinese person it's simply their way of life. Is being ignorant of your possibilities truly blissful? And is knowing about them and always striving to increase them sidetracking people from being blissfully happy in the state that we are in? Or should we always be striving for more?

Such is the double edged sword of knowledge and power.

Who is better to make these decisions, back seat bureaucrats or YOU?!