There’s a high likelihood that this blog may end up flopping because I’m pathetic at keeping blogs. However, I’ve reached a point in the road where I think it’s absolutely necessary to chronicle some of my experiences and offer my take on the events unfolding around me in a more organized manner.
My name is Blaise Buma. I grew up in Bamenda, Cameroon but has spent my entire adulthood in the United States (save for a one year study abroad in London). This year I decided to leave my job behind, pack my bags, and set out for Beijing. During my time in China I will be joining a pool of some very talented individuals drawn from all corners of the world to study as Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University.
In this blog I will chronicle my experiences living in China. Schwarzman Scholars is a bubble within a bubble. That is to say, the college, which is very well built and affords many luxuries that an average Chinese can only dream of, is set within an elite institution in China. So I am many degrees removed from what the experiences of an average Chinese person entails.
Fun as it may be to spend time in this castle with these talented and diverse group of individuals, I am even more excited to meet the people outside of this bubble; the ordinary Chinese whose individual stories may be untold, but whose collective stories is the force that shapes the trajectory of history, or at least Chinese history.
To the extent I can overcome the language barrier –be that through sign language or using the services of an interpreter– I will be making a conscious effort to reach out and talk with the man/woman on the street. Who are they? What are their personal stories? What does living in China mean for them? What, if any thoughts, do they have about America’s relationship with China? Collating and processing the accounts of these individuals is the most pragmatic way of helping me weave a tapestry of stories that I hope may inform my view of a country in a state of perpetual flux.
Please feel free to leave questions, comments and suggestions.
Window Into Our World 