Beginning of China Part II

Just coming off the trip of a lifetime, it's hard to get excited about another semester of teaching. My first day is tomorrow...it was nice having some time to relax in Shanghai and get back settled into the city before jumping right back into teaching and dealing with these students. Of course as soon as we come back from SE Asia we are hit in the face with the same exact frustrations that annoy the shit out of us and I suppose we must just deal with it and take advantage of all the good things that the school has to offer. It really is not that bad of a situation at all. Although I was asked to focus more on academic and argumentative writing for this semester, in my head I'm blowing these guys off only because I think it is best for these kids to receive information from American culture as that is my area of expertise and exactly what these kids need in preparation for succeeding at the next level, whether that will be abroad in the US or at home at one of China's finer institutes of higher education.

Anyway, I feel like writing and entering this blog because I'm in another one of those funky states of mind where I am constantly analyzing and reflecting on everything that I have in my life. It's not that I'm not having fun, I am just in a somewhat antisocial mood and just want to relax and stay at home and watch movies and catch up on TV that I haven't seen. On the other hand, I'm constantly telling myself that this is OK in the end, especially after such a tiring trip as the one we took where we traversed many many miles and had ourselves quite the adventure. I like to think it's never wrong to like to sit around in your room and get high and watch DVDs all day for a little bit. In all seriousness, what the fuck else is there out there to do besides watch movies, read books, play video games, and read up on the Internet. I like to pass my leisure time watching movies, after all who does not like Hollywood? As much as everyone who thinks they don't like it complain about it, they don't truly realize the love and joy they get out of it.

Once again I tell myself all the time that I should really make a concerted effort to write more, kind of like that same effort and dedication I have for exercising all the time and keeping my body in good shape. I do enjoy it after all and I often feel like my thoughts collide and join together at the tip and are just waiting to be expressed to somebody or just put on paper so that I can reread and reflect at some later point in my life. It'll take me back to that place, that place where my mind was at that particular time or some other place that I would otherwise not remember had I not at one point written about it and how I felt at the time. With that being said, I will continue this entry with an update as to what happened in our trip in SE Asia, crazy shit right!...

Revolution Blog Response

With regards to the first question, I believe that I would have participated in the Revolution against the Shah. It is very difficult to say what I would have done if I were there, but if I were to pick, I believe that I would have joined the crowds in the streets in protests and rebellion and tried to overthrow the Shah. If I had the money and the means, I would do what my parents did and that was get the hell out of Iran. In other words, I do not think I would have been ready for such a large change and I do not think others really would have known what they are getting themselves into. With that being said, I would have been set on leaving and settling somewhere that is politically and economically stable, such as the US, England, France, Canada, etc. However, with no choice, I would have gone with the crowd that wanted to overthrow the Shah because, like them, I would have believed that the country needs a change and needs to get rid of the man who can't say "No" to the United States. I would question the Shah's dedication to his people and would believe that everything he did was for his or his own family's benefit. In other words, I would have believed that he abused his power for his own personal gain, instead of looking out for the people of the country that he was ruling. For that reason, I believe I would have opposed the Shah if I were to stay in Iran.

With the benefit of hindsight, my answer does change, but not entirely. What I mean by that is that if I still had the means to leave, I would have since a lot of things turned out to become pretty fucked up after the overthrow of the Shah. Nobody really knew what they were getting themselves into. The majority of those in favor of the Revolution simply wanted to overthrow the Shah and didn't think twice about how things would pan out under Khomeini's religious rule. In short, the Iranian people were shocked as everything that occurred did not meet their expectations. Part of the reason that explains that is because the Iranian people did not know what to expect and the other part is because they blindly went into protests without considering the possible downfalls of Khomeini's regime. With that being said, in hindsight, I would have never been in favor of overthrowing the Shah had I known the outcome of Khomeini's religious regime. But, the funny thing is that people often unite for a particular cause that many may regret in the future and only in hindsight can you really say what a terrible decision that may have been. So, with that being said, it's really hard to say what was right and what was wrong at the time because nobody knew and that makes the situation all that more difficult and complicated.