I hated China. 10 years ago during our package trip there, vendors from a black market were cursing us after entering and leaving their stalls. I don't understand why they'd be angry but they just were. Maybe they find it disrespectful that people come and go as they please while ignoring their wares. Strange. Brushes with Chinese literature have doused the "hate" completely and replaced with an admiration that borders on love, especially after reading "Waiting" by Ha Jin . There's something beautiful in the simplicity of the narrative that brings about complexity in how the novel can be interpreted. More importantly, despite the novel being written in the 20th century, it was still able to evoke its culture in a fresh manner through literary devices such as dream sequences and the importance of filial piety, both elements of which are present in the classic "The Dream of the Red Chamber." Such texts were taken up in my Asian Literature class. ...