Cahootie

It's great to see that you like Hans Rosling, and it isn't too surprising considering how you share a lot of the same message. It was really a shame that he passed away last year.

Factory work: Incredibly dull. The factory I worked at was very good compared to other factories, with proper lighting, relatively ergonomic work stations, good safety measures and good socializing between the workers, but it's still not something I would want to do long-term.

I did some basic assembly (just taking piece A and putting it onto piece B), but most of my time was spent soldering and connecting cables to components, and I was able to listen to podcasts while doing so, so time passed and it was pretty nice to just turn off my brain and do basic tasks for a while.

Chinese culture: Incredibly fascinating. It's a huge country with tons of different local cultures, but there's something in the clash between modern Western-style evolution and a traditional society that creates something captivating.

I've truly enjoyed my time spent in China and the people I've met there, so it's quite sad that the government (both national and local) is trying to erase a lot of the local culture to become more developed and "civilized". Naturally there are cultural clashes, but I just think they add to the experience.

I lived in Beijing in 2014-15 and went to Mongolia after I was done there. After experiencing multiple days with a PM2.5 way above 500 (I believe the limit for what is bad is 10) Ulaanbaatar was nothing, although that could definitely be down to temporary trends. I dedicated an entire day to just walking around Ulaanbaatar, and it was honestly fascinating to see the contrasts between the large glass skyscrapers (like the Blue Sky Tower) and the gers (Mongolians yurts) when you turn around.

As for being in a polluted city in general, you feel heavy, you can taste the air and it makes you feel disgusting. The feeling of getting home in the evening and blowing your nose only to have a black mass come out is impossible to convey. People seem to simply accept this as their reality, but it becomes absurd when you see participants in the Beijing Marathon running it while wearing face masks. You won't notice any changes as a healthy person, but you just know it's bad.

Now you made me think of Brooks from Shawshank Redemption. I'm sad now.

I'm as white as they come. The factory was located in a sea of other factories, which meant that I didn't see a single foreigner even once when walking around the area, and the only one I met at the office happened to be ethnically Chinese.