My Response to 250-275

There seem to have been some good and bad points Hessler made about the Chinese and money. One thing I first found out was that Chairman Mao hated money. His father made a lot of money through being a landlord and this made Mao despise anything that had to do with it, yet he was considered a “poor revolutionary” (259). This section explains that money is something the Chinese spent much time thinking and talking about. They were afforded more opportunities and gaining it and spend it, but it still wasn't enough. The writer says, “Everywhere in Fuling that was what people talked about” (259). Everyone knew each other salaries and if you were wearing something new or simply had something new, you were asked how much it cost and the person told you. Mentioning money in Fuling was like a tradition for another place. One thing that was good and bad about money in Fuling was how they would try to impress their foreigners. Whenever Hessler would eat with students, they would pay the bill. I found this a bit odd because the students there were already facing tight finances, but this was apart of their culture. Hessler himself did not care much about money in Fuling. He made one thousand Yuan a month and that was relatively high as long as he did not travel much which he didn't.  Hessler says, “That was the one of the best aspects of life in the Peace Corps: my salary was so low that it was pointless to save money, but  my Fuling routines were so simple and cheap that I didn't have to worry about budgeting my expenses” (256). My own feeling about money is that I need it to live; I don’t live to need it. I wish the world could view money that way. If we all could there would be less killings and violence in the world. We all know that money is the root of all evil therefore people would do whatever they have to in order to have it.