Prison Break
For international readers, allow me to explain: I am an American, but I have lived as an expat since 2004. My current city of Chongqing is a megacity of 30-plus million people. Often abbreviated as CQ and pronounced Chong Ching — to rhyme with Wrong Ring — Chongqing is located in south-central China on the Yangtze River. For context: I’ve come a long, long way from my small hometown located in (pause for effect)… south-central Missouri on the (pause for effect) Little Dry Fork Creek. How long is a long, long way? How about 13 time zones long? CQ is one of the world’s largest cities, but I am on a quest for a simple life. I want to “simplify, simplify,” as Hank Thoreau beautifully stated it. Thus, even in the middle of a huge metropolis, I publish these observations and admonitions from my 18th Floor Homestead.
I am currently working on a new series of books, The Expat Chronicles. Each week, I will include excerpts from those books to introduce important aspects of the life of an expat. Imagine you wake up in a foreign country one morning. What would you do next? And what would you do after that… and after that? Tune in each week as we explore the expat life.
PERSONAL AND PUBLISHING NEWS:
(Please be patient. The main feature, Prison Break, is coming below but first, I’ve got a lot on my mind…)
Once again, I am pleased to report no earth-shaking events to report. The high point of my week was when I discovered a new source — temporary source, at least — of ground decaf coffee. Sadly, the doctor has admonished me to greatly decrease my caffeine and alcohol intake. The decaf is an acceptable substitute since it still allows me the pleasure of my early-morning coffee-making routine. Honestly, I admit the familiar ritual is more important than the jolt of chemical sunshine in real coffee. What’s next? A friend has suggested a source of near beer… whatever the hell that is. Is there a non-alcoholic version of Jack Daniel’s whiskey? Dream on.
In lieu of more important issues, let me resurrect a short passage from past personal and publishing news:
Let’s explore two popular myths. The first is that writers are inherently smarter, more sophisticated and interesting and accomplished people who get invited to nicer parties. Alas, this is not always true. While it is true that I am smarter, more sophisticated, interesting, and accomplished than the average person, those nicer parties continue to elude me. Perhaps it is my modesty that prevents me from being recognized. The second is the equally pervasive belief that expats are inherently smarter, more sophisticated, interesting, and accomplished than the average person and who get invited to nicer parties. Again, while I exhibit all those qualities, I am still spending most of my time alone slaving over a hot keyboard and gradually blinding myself from staring endlessly at the computer’s monitor. (There are also the hazards of swivel-chair spread, changing the curvature of my spine because of the extended periods of sitting and typing, and the blood pressure spikes that are the side effect of reading online news.) I am still waiting for the party invitations.
Hmm. Gonna have to work on toning down my modesty.
Currently, my life is about as exciting as that of my turtles. But, given what is happening in the outside world, maybe boring is good.
World events: The line from the movie Animal House matches what I am feeling. “It’s too depressing to think about.” It was said by the character Katy during her argument with Boon, when she’s frustrated about the idea of spending a weekend with his fraternity buddies.
And she thought she had troubles…
And this from a guy who is generally optimistic about humanity.
No substantial progress to report on the publishing front, either. For various reasons, fame and fortune continue to be as elusive as those party invitations. Still, some incremental progress was made on getting the paperback version of TEC 3 prepared for release and a few more comments were made in the online writers communities. Maybe next week will bring the breakthrough.
I continue using ChatGPT, my favorite AI currently, for doing the formatting and interior design work on TEC 3. Alas, even given a model to imitate and explicit instructions, it is not as accurate at this type of task as one might hope for. (AI Industry response: Wait until you see next year’s model.) But, step by step, inch by inch, line by line, we are getting closer to releasing the paperback version of TEC 3 so it can proudly sit on the digital bookshelf alongside the ebook version released last month.
A question for you, dear readers. Would you want to read a paperback book with this brief description on the back cover?
A new country. A familiar morning. A life he might choose to keep.
As spring arrives in Henan, American teacher Randy Green is discovering how quickly the extraordinary can become everyday life. Student friendships, tea-house evenings, unfamiliar meals, and excursions beyond the university campus bring pleasures he never expected — and questions he could not have asked before leaving home.
With candid humor and the perspective of more than twenty years abroad, Green revisits the days when Zhengzhou began to feel like his city. His students keep teaching the teacher, and the possibility of staying grows harder to dismiss.
The Sun Also Rises On Expats continues The Expat Chronicles with true stories about adapting, making friends, and choosing where to belong.
Hmm. Next year in Hawaii. Beach drinks with those little umbrellas. Worrying about taxable income. Sigh. A little daydreaming is allowable. Okay, now back to work…
Prison Break
It was a dark and stormy night. (All proper thrillers must begin on a dark and stormy night.) Lightning outlined a grim, dismal prison set in a lonely place, far from any of the comforts of civilization. This was a place where hardened criminals were sent to spend the years of their confinement. It is here that our story begins.
Five prisoners huddled in a dark corner of the prison dining room where they could talk without being overheard. Secrecy was paramount because one of the five had discovered an incomplete escape tunnel that had been dug by other prisoners many years earlier but had never been used. Over time, it had been forgotten. Now, a little exploration had shown that a few hours of work would complete the tunnel. Then, they could escape from their wretched life in this terrible prison and, with the help of some trusted accomplices, hurriedly cross the border to safety and freedom. (Hardened criminals know how to do these things.)
This night, the five prisoners were meeting clandestinely to choose the date for their final effort. Their leader, Prisoner 27355, said, “It’s all set. Our friends are waiting in a small village just a short distance from the prison. As soon as we arrive at the village, they will immediately provide us with new identity papers and drive us across the border. We can reach the village in only a few hours after we break out. All we have to do is finish the tunnel and get out of here. Our new lives are very close. Nothing can go wrong.”
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“But,” Prisoner 97986 whispered, “we cannot break out this week. I can’t leave now. I am taking an online course and must prepare for a big exam next Friday. I have no time for digging. We will have to stage our escape for after that exam.”
“Also,” added Prisoner 55098 in a whisper, “I feel like I am getting a cold. I don’t want to escape until I feel well.”
Prisoner 11789 glanced over his shoulder to be sure no one was listening. He added, “My grandmother is coming on the next visitor’s day and I don’t want to miss her. We should escape after that.”
Then Prisoner 33778 said furtively, “Plus, it is so rainy this time of year. We should wait until the weather is better before making preparations to break out.”
To all these reasons, the leader, Prisoner 27355, replied, “Well, I am certainly eager to get out of here but I would hate to miss the special dinner we will be served to celebrate the upcoming holiday. Maybe we should wait until after the holiday before we escape.”
So, the secret meeting concluded with a decision to delay the breakout until everyone agreed that conditions were conducive to a proper prison break.
THE END
Wait a minute! What kind of story is this? Do I really expect readers to believe that hardened criminals would not break out of their horrible prison when it was so simple… and because of these flimsy excuses? This story is beyond weak and silly. It is unbelievable. This would be unacceptable to people expecting a story with some realistic behaviors. Who would write such a stupid story? And who would believe it was about real people?
Yet, look around you. Don’t you see many such stories every day? And they are about real people. Don’t you see many people leading lives they dislike or even hate? Aren’t they in their own prisons? If you listen to them, they will tell you that they know what would make them happy, would bring them to a healthier, more fulfilling life. They want to break out of their present-life prison. Often, they even have an escape plan but, just like the prisoners of this short story, they never take action. Why not? There are many reasons why people remain in their own prisons of discontent and fear. (DAHIK: Don’t ask how I know.)
However, as the Eagles sang many years ago in Already Gone,
So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key.
Yes, you have the key. Indeed, people often know what their ideal life would be. They even know the path to get there. It might be a new job, a new house in a different neighborhood, maybe even moving to a new city. Sometimes, that might mean giving up toxic relationships which are dragging them down when they try to make upward progress. Maybe it means giving up a personal behavior or addiction that provides temporary, numbing comfort but is really a downward spiral. Maybe, in some cases, the key involves moving to a new country.
But…there is always some reason why they cannot break out of their prison this week — and people always offer those reasons most sincerely, even bitterly. Maybe the excuses sound so plausible and reasonable because that person has had much practice in honing and perfecting their stories. Maybe the person has peddled their excuse so many times that they have begun to believe their own stories.
Bottom Line: Through their inaction, they are choosing not to break out of their own prison — and they are renewing that choice every day. They are miserable and living in fear but they are staying. Indeed, refusing to make a decision is itself a decision.
Does any of this sound familiar?
Let’s look at the other side of the coin, after the prison break is successfully completed. Can you see how this prison break scenario leads to an expat life for some? Scratch an expat and you may find a former prisoner underneath. Part of the expat mindset involves being flexible in our thinking as well as being flexible in our geographical setting. Usually, if you clearly know what you want, the path to achieving it is also clear… like our five prisoners’ escape tunnel.
Note that I did not say the path would be easy. Most of the time, becoming an expat is definitely not quick, easy, or inexpensive. But the objective is clear even at times when the path is not. Prison breaks often involve some hard work and persistence. Breaking out of your old life and into a deliberately chosen new lifestyle is not without effort and uncertainty. But it is attainable.
Another reason for hesitation about breaking out of their prison is because these escape plans do not come with a guarantee of success. Indeed, there may be much uncertainty, even risk, in many of the steps. Then, even if they reach their objective and become an expat, no one can promise that achieving their goal will make them happy.
But it might. There’s only one way to find out.
And what about those prisoners from the story? It’s always a dark and stormy night for them. They’re still in their prison, still plotting to escape — and still making lame excuses why the breakout must be postponed until later before they take action. You have the key to your own prison cell. You know what you want and you know, albeit vaguely, what you should be doing to achieve it. Why aren’t you? What excuses are you making for not breaking out of your own prison?
If this article has stirred something in you, perhaps it is time to create your Plan B and start the first steps down the expat path.
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Intrigued? For more (much more) of this expat and writing-related blather, you are welcome to drop by my author website, randygreenwriter.com. Currently under construction for cleaning up detritus accumulated over the years, you can find articles going back to 2018 (when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth). Use the dialogue box to search for specific topics or keywords. You are heartily invited to leave comments. Not so lonely that way. (English only, please, although AI makes acceptably accurate translation easy enough.)
Yes, as previously mentioned, my doctor has advised me to switch to decaf coffee. I am assured that this will increase my chances of achieving my personal goal of living to be 100… but living well. However, you are still invited to stop by my Buy Me A Coffee page and support this firehose of digital flotsam and jetsam for the price of a cup of decaf coffee.
Final thought: There is much in the world and, indeed, in our personal lives, that we cannot control. The Stoics assure us that the important thing is to accept this reality and attempt to control only our responses to the uncontrollable outside forces (including spouses and children). One of the most useful actions we can take is to practice random acts of kindness. It is amazing how often this boomerang of independent action will come back into your life in unexpected form, even when no reward or recognition can be expected. It may be some time in the future, but it will surely come back to you. Tune in next week as we resurrect the metaphysical debate over whether the word “fate” should be capitalized. For now, just remember you can control one tiny, tiny part of the universe by your choices. So… Make Serendipity Happen!
Perhaps we will meet someday on the Expat Path.
