There was a stillness in the room after I asked the ever scary question, about love and...sex in the Chinese everyday lifestyle. As if it isn`t a little taboo here in Canada, just try approaching that topic in a country that has so much of it`s freedom of speech controlled by the power of communism and government military censorship. My question was posed to the wife and ambassador of Beijing at a special dinner put on at their palace or temple, could`nt tell the difference between the two because all the buildings were so big and ornate. Much to my surprise, and my shocked aboriginal travel mates, the ambassador and his wife were very polite about their responses and they took up to half an hour in open discussion, which would be 15 minutes without the translators. It was easy to see that they were also being very careful with their opinions but it was definitely one of the highlighted topics of our two week journey.

I was a little more reserved on that topic for the rest of the trip and focused mostly on the learning experience of how the Chinese people live everyday and observed them as they observed and studied us. Most of our communication was through translators but you could see the importance of the English language everywhere as it was displayed on most signage as their second language. I also noticed that they were very conservative about in a moralistic way and that their marriage system is still enveloped very strongly in their traditions and is very risky to mess with. No easy divorces and certainly a tough system for the men and boys to fit into for there was a lot less women than there was men, out numbering them 4 to 1 according to a government survey. Very scary considering that most of them will never marry or have a sexual relation with a woman for their entire life, so competition is tough but mostly arranged in the family royal system, especially in the high archy population.

Mostly we should be thankful that we have so much freedom in our love lives but truly it is with a price that we carry on painfully allowing marriages and relationships to be so disposable and meaningless, enough to give up so easily. The Chinese are very strict and dedicated to their traditions and their business and family relations. This I respect and wish we could have more of that type of honour in our society. A society that now seems to have no conscience or hearts when it comes to bereaking laws and rules. I welcome more interactivity with my new friends from far overseas, plus I look forward to sharing more of their lifestyles and culture in my next article.

Be thankful and charish your heart and freedoms.