2056 Life as a China Farmer

Flashing forward to year 2056 and living as a Chinese Farmer, life might not appear to have changed to much the last 50 years. Our Chinese government and economical strengths is a sign of power for the world to see. Most envy how strong the Chinese government has become over the past 50 years. But, my life as a Chinese farmer is still about the same as it was 50 years ago, except this family business has now been passed down to my children for I am too old to be farming. My husband and I rely mostly on the rice and the few chickens we still have to feed us each day. We try to help the farm but more often than none our children feel we just get in the way so we try to just stay out of their way. Which is fine by me for my body cannot take the hard labor like it used to when I was younger. We pride ourselves in keeping our grown children entertained with storytelling at night. Of course we do have a few grandchildren that run around and make us feel that we have lived some great years. It is now 2056 and life as an African Parent at this age is rare. Most of the elders die around their 60’s just depending on the many variables that have taken place in their lives.

Unfortunately my husband right now is very ill and I am having a hard time taking care of him and our grandchildren. I know our biggest concern is AIDS epidemic; it has been spreading over the other local villages. My husband and I fear for our grandchildren, once their older and marry; we just worry that they might find themselves with the disease. (BBC October 13, 2010) HIV/AIDS has increased tragically over the last 50 years. Education is the one way we can save our village, by teaching safe sex and use of protection. I still try to help at the school to teach but at my age there isn’t too much that I can do so I have taught my daughter-in-law the teaching ways. My sons help in the local villages; one is a handy man so he will fix things for trade and also helps manage one of the general stores. We still grow our own food to feed us and with my grown children’s help it makes it easier especially with my ill husband. I’m sure both of us only has a few good years left but we have lead a simple life and feel blessed to have made it this long.

U.S. Software Engineer in the year 2056, and my husband and I are living in Seattle still, very comfortably might I add. With all the high tech medicine and doctors here in Seattle, we have been able to overcome some medical challenges. I put in some long days and hard work but retired after 30 years as a software engineer and haven’t regretted it since. My husband and I try to travel as much as we can, especially in the winter time to someplace warm. Our kids are grown and self-sufficient; we might even have a new grandbaby on the way soon. We still et at the local restaurants and try to shop at the local shops as well but the big corporate stores have taken over so much. I worry about my children because I’m not there to protect them and there seems to be a rise in crime.

Basically I have lived the “American dream” with comfortable retirement and security that my family will also be taken care of. Each individual, even though these are made up people, display some levels of accuracy in the way people can live all over the world. From the farmer living the simple life on a small piece of land to the busy software engineer living the comfy lifestyle. Globalization hasn’t changed for the farmers and barters still happen daily for the goods needed to live. Then there is the software engineer has given his family all the material needs that they will ever need or want, they are prime examples of capitalist consumers.

References

Digest of reports from Eritrea’s Hadas Eritrea newspaper of 13 October. (15 October 2010). BBC Monitoring Africa: Retrieved October 27, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand

Johnson, June. Global Issues, Local Arguments: Readings for Writing. New York: Custom Publishing, 2007.Kearsley, Kelly. (2009, February 25). State jobless numbers still climbing Marling, William H: How “American” Is Globalization? Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.