I visited China during the summer
of 1999 as part of an Educational Delegation from St. Louis Community College. I fell in
love with China and its people, and consequently I'm on sabbatical and teaching at Hunan
Normal University in Changsha, China during the fall of 2000. You can follow my adventures
by logging onto this Web Page.
August 2, 2000
The devils in the details. I'm learning what this means as I complete my preparations for
going to China. It took three trips to electronic stores, and a conversation with Grace
Liu between the trips, before I got the correct electricity converter. My life is consumed
by lists and "bye bye" parties. I'm also savoring my bike rides, favorite
haunts, and kayak trips. The sweetness of life is in the everyday events and encounters
that we take for granted.
August 4, 2000
I'm starting to pack and deciding what to take and leave behind. I'll only have my
favorite clothes. I'm shipping winter things and carrying summer things on the plane. I'm
continuing to collect information for my classes, and quite a bit of my suitcase will be
taken up by books and paper. I'm still struggling with getting albums made for this web
page, but I think I'll have it by the time I leave next week. I'm reading up on Culture
Shock and China, getting more and more excited, and really appreciating all the work the
staff here have done to get me going. I'm especially appreciating the work Yvonne in Dr.
Smith's office has done. Banner's learning curve has caused a lot of problems with some of
my paperwork and expenses.
August 9, 2000
I leave tomorrow. All packed. Two sided business cards in hand: one side in English with
FP information; the other side in Chinese with Hunan Normal University information. I am
very honored to be the first exchange teacher in our exchange program. I've read so much
about China I feel that I am ready to experience it, and interested to learn how the
educational system works within the Chinese Culture. Grace Liu has been an enormous help
and support. When I arrive in China I will spend a week on campus getting oriented. Then I
will spend two weeks traveling in the Western part of China. I will be traveling alone. In
two of the three areas I am visiting, family members of Chinese who live in St. Louis will
be assisting me. One of the families is the family of Grace Liu's husband. Then I return
to Changsha and get ready for classes which start Sept. 4.
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