This past Monday marked the third anniversary of my landing in Beijing for the first time (after the 2002 family holiday and my summer internship). What was originally envisioned to be a one-year stint as an editor for a state media website has now stretched into a fourth year of prowling the motherland. I must admit, I had a feeling that this would happen. Not the fourth year per se, but that I would end up staying for more than a year. At the time, I couldn’t imagine being away for a whole entire year (all the people and things I would miss!), but I also knew that I would easily make myself at home here and then not want to leave it.

So it goes.

China is frustrating, which I know I’ve mentioned many times. The government, the people, the environment, the living standards — there’s always something to rant about and progress in these areas is dubious (though three years is not long enough to make an accurate assessment anyway). For example, did you know that in China, some work weeks have eight days? I’m sure this would be illegal according to the international labor administration, if it existed, and I really wish it did exist to infringe upon China’s sovereignty in moments like these. But alas, the benevolent government, the wise guardian of all Chinese people, the CPC, has the power to move around weekends so that they fall around a holiday — and then make us work the actual weekend.

As a result, we will be working New Year’s Eve and then get THREE WHOLE DAYS off for New Year’s before coming back to work on Friday. It sounds great, until you realize that we have to “make up” for two of those days on Saturday and Sunday, and continue to work the rest of the following week as well. A greater illustration of the cultural divide is harder to find, because this set-up actually makes sense to some Chinese people, who think having three days off in a row is great! Until, of course, you point out that they then have to work eight days in a row, which is tiring. And that even if there had to be days to make up, couldn’t you make up one of the days the following weekend, so that you’d at least get some rest in between? No? Thanks for ruining the holiday spirit, CPC.

But despite these constant battles with logic with Chinese characteristics,* living in a culture that is so different and so rife with opportunities for anecdotes helps. The insight I feel that I’ve gained here — into myself, the U.S., China, history and humanity writ large — more than makes up for the aggravating situations I find myself in every day.** So with that in mind, I’ll be sharing some of the best and the worst parts of China in the next few posts.

* This is not actually logic in the true sense of the word.

** I think so, anyway. This is one of the things I like about China (maybe the best thing), and there must be an explanation for why I am still here, other than that I’m too lazy to move.