Wide Open Spaces

　　Australia is known as a country with plenty ofspace， and comparatively few people to populateit. When you think about the fact that there are sixcities in China with a greater population than thewhole of the 3.5 million-square-km area of the GreatSouthern Land， perspectives may change. It is oneof the backdrops to the formation of the Australiancharacter. Many cannot just go around the corner fortheir weekly groceries. Sometimes it may even bedelivered by airplane. In some regions， it might be afew hours’ drive to a neighbor’s place.

　　China， too， has its own wide open spaces. Butvery little of the population have seen the plains ofthe north， while many live their whole lives withina very small geographical area， in cities， or rural villages.Either would be considered crowded by Aussiestandards.

　　To compare or contrast is neither beneficial norproductive.

　　I remember visiting a hutong in Shijiazhuang，where my wife’s family was born and raised. Parentsand four children lived in very cramped conditions.The whole house would fit into two rooms of ourhouse in Brisbane.

　　Now I wish to address both the pluses and minusesof wide-open spaces and close-quarter living.

　　When you are constantly and physically close to a lotof people， the capacity to tolerate individual foibles，habits and idiosyncrasies increases. You learn to putup with noise， personal issues， “making do” withminimal resources， and accepting that other peopleare going to be “in your face.” This leads to a feelingof well-being in the community， and individualsacrifices are made for the benefit of the whole. Thedownside， from a Western perspective， is the word“sacrifice.” As China’s middle class grows stronger，individual sacrifice for the benefit of the whole communitywill no doubt diminish. More demands will bemade by wealthy individuals. As a Westerner， I hopethis does not see the decay of the family fabric thatsets your country apart from Western society.

　　The upside of wide open spaces is that it givestime to contemplate one’s own existence. Whether it isgazing out at some of the 25，000 km of coastline thatAustralia enjoys， or watching with wonder a canopy ofstars in the Red Center (the middle of Australia)， timeseems to take on an eternal dimension. There have beenplenty of Chinese poets and philosophers who have contemplatedsimilar things， but it is not “the norm.”

　　Easy going and “fair dinkum” are two characteristicsthat are commonly applied to Aussies. The first isself-explanatory. The second means a variety of things：that you can trust a man’s word on a handshake， thathe means what he says， that he is not seeking a hiddenagenda， he is open and forthright， and he can be trusted.

　　I have experienced both close quarters living andwide open spaces. My 10 years in the Royal AustralianNavy had me living in extremely cramped conditions onboard a warship， and led to some of the closest friendshipsthat one could wish for. Fighting a war brought usvery close together.

　　But I have to say that living on 700 acres (320 mu) inGuyra on the New England Tableland in northern NewSouth Wales was about as close as I have been to myown vision of paradise. My house was 1.5 km from theroad， and my nearest neighbor was about 4 km away. Ihad dogs， cattle， sheep， koalas， emus， snakes and lots ofother animals running free on the property.

　　My home is now on Bribie Island - just over one hournorth of Brisbane， and about two minutes’ drive fromthe Pacific Ocean. Surf beaches， quiet inlets， PumicestonePassage， and lakes， are all a stone’s throw fromhome. But what do I yearn for？ To return to China， andexperience once again the crazy， frenetically paced，rapidly changing society！ Give me a crowded suburbanrestaurant where the food is cooked in front of youreyes. Give me the good-natured jostling of the local producemarkets. Give me the natural laughter and joy thatlife brings to everyone who I have met in China. I canput up with everything not being five-star. I can accepteverything that you have to throw at me！ I am comingback soon.