Why I Travel to China
(1/24/2006)
About once each day someone asks me why I am willing to spend 14 hours on an airplane to get to China every month. This photo is my answer.
In December I visited Changsha, a small city (by Chinese standards) of only half a dozen million people in Hunan province, to give a lecture and visit with faculty members at the Hunan University School of Finance. I had a wonderful time with the students and faculty there.
During the afternoon I had a break between classes and decided to take a walk through a local residential neighborhood. While I was walking, these two little girls--maybe 7 years old--came up to me and said "Hello!" in perfect English. I was the only westerner on the street.
Between their English and my Chinese we decided to have our picture taken together.
The enthusiasm of young students in China is infectious. They believe in the American dream, that they can achieve anything through hard work. They are natural friends for Americans. We just have to make the effort to get to know them.