3. Open Lecture

One of my teaching obligations at Luzhou Medical College is unique. Every Tuesday evening I give a 90-minute lecture open to any students who want to listen. The point, from the school's perspective, is to give the students the opportunity to hear a native English speaker, so the content of the lecture is secondary to the speaking itself. Initially I found this to be a difficult assignment as I did not have a computer to do presentations with, there would be too many people to photocopy handouts, and there was nothing resembling a set curriculum. Basically I was being asked to stand and talk for ninety minutes, every week, about anything I wanted. 

At my introductory lecture (and every lecture thereafter) were around 300 exceptionally bright students, ages 19-22, curious to see and hear the new laowai (foreigner). While the difficulty in coming up with things to talk about never completely subsided,
the lectures have been far more of a blessing than a curse. 

Over the past four months I have talked about a wide array of topics, from dating in America to the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr, from how to play baseball to the war in Iraq, and from Christmas traditions to the 19th century American expansion west. It has been a challenging experience to try and
explain subjects such as these in an honest, accurate, and entertaining manner. I have tried to avoid making comparisons between China and America, instead leaving that to the students, and have focused on explaining things as truthfully as possible. While I hope my students have gained something from these talks, I know without a doubt I have personally learned a great
deal. Trying to explain the culture of my birth, to people from a wholly different one, has been illuminating to say the least. In this setting, so many ideas and behaviors I've taken for granted, or
never closely examined, have been brought forth for question and clarification. 

One wrinkle I brought into the agenda was I asked the students to write down questions, about anything at all, and give them to me midway through every lecture. Then, the last thirty minutes or so, I would read and answer them in a personal and informal way. 
Over the course of the semester I have answered questions of almost every conceivable variety, many pertaining to my impressions, opinions, personal life, or past experiences.

While this period has provided many a laugh for me and the students, it has also provided a forum for topics such as love and happiness. In reading the questions of the students, it has shown me, evermore clearly, that no matter where in the world one
travels, people are generally far more the same than different. The students here in China are dealing with the same questions and issues myself and other college students dealt with back in America. The context and settings may be different, but the central themes are the same. It seems young people everywhere
are looking for friendship and love, are seeking answers to life's big questions, and are trying to make their way in the world as best they can. So despite our massive cultural differences, I feel I
definitely have much more in common with them than otherwise. 

Through this question and answer portion, one thing I've discerned is that many students believe life in America is perfect, that thanks to so much material wealth, everyone is happy, content, and wants for nothing. This is perhaps as accurate a generalization as if I believed every person in China was exceptional at playing table tennis. Yes, many Chinese people are
excellent ping pong players, but certainly not all of them are. Likewise, there are many people in America who are happy and content with their lives. But this is certainly not everyone. 

I personally know people in America who have vast material riches to go along with social status, yet who I would definitely not describe as happy. The opposite is true as well. I know many people in America, young and old, who live a life that is outwardly very simple, yet inwardly very rich. Perhaps the point I stress most to my students is material and monetary wealth does not ensure happiness, nor is it a substitute for it, in America or any other country in the world. 

The common perception and portrayal of America abroad is that everyone has reached a high level of both affluence and satisfaction, and the two have evolved simultaneously. I believe this is a bit misleading. The standard of living in America is undoubtedly among the highest in the world, and for wealthy Americans, the highest. And many Americans do indeed lead satisfying, rewarding, and happy lives.  But what I try to explain to my students is the two are not always linked. Wealth does not ensure happiness, nor is happiness directly proportional to
wealth. The two can go hand in hand, but they do not necessarily have to.  

Many of my students, for various reasons, will never attain the level of affluence common to most Americans. Thus, if they accept, without questioning, the belief that material wealth and happiness are proportionally linked, they are setting themselves up for discontent. But maybe, if they realize this is not true, if they can see through the haze, than perhaps they will look elsewhere, or inwardly, in their pursuit of happiness. Perhaps they will find truth in the saying 'the trick to being happy is not
having what you want, but wanting what you have', and that maybe indeed 'the best things in life are free'.  But I don't know. I'm not sure. Either way, all I can do is offer my opinion. 

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