Cracks in the Berlin Wall: Part 2

The year was 1990. I had been living and working in China already for 4 years. The winds of democracy were blowing across the continent westward. Cracks were appearing in the Berlin Wall.

In China, there was no bustle among shoppers, no caroling in the streets. The jingle of Yuletide was nowhere to be found. Even Jack Frost was confined to a cold simple snap in the air. The only signs of Christmas were the slushy streets and an arctic chill.

Short-wave frequencies beamed in the news. The winds of democracy had died down in China, while whirlwinds of revolution were piping up all throughout Eastern Europe.

Then, the headlines rocked us: `Ceauscescu is Dead’, `The Berlin Wall has Fallen’, `Eastern Europe is Free’.

The events in the West sounded so distant, almost unreal. Yet history was unfolding—and I wanted to have a part in it!

Follow the series:

Part 1: My Romance with the Color Red
Part 3: Shifting Gears: from China to Eastern Europe
Part 4: Calm, Cool, and...Calamity?

Part 5: Munching in Moscow: Part 5

Photo Berlin Wall by Noir GNU Free Documentation License at Wikipedia.