After three domestic flights, six recruitment fairs, and
twelve meetings with current parents in the span of four days, I’m ready to
take the United Airlines silver bird back to Chicago and then on to BWI.
Chengdu (population 14 million), capital of Sichuan province, is an economic
gateway to China’s central and western regions. It is the home of the
world famous pandas (we got to see the lovable bears only in stuffed form in
local stores) and to very spicy culinary offerings. Since arriving in
Nanning on November 8, we have seen virtually no other Caucasians besides those
in our group. From Chengdu, it was a quick flight to do our work in
Guangzhou and then Shenzhen near the southeastern coast—a city that has
experienced phenomenal development in a short period of years. We
reunited with Sandi and her teammates for a final evening’s celebration and
toasts all around to colleagues, our wonderful Cambridge Institute guides, the
local agents, and the people of China who had been so hospitable over the
course of these past ten days.
We are on our way out of China proper to the highly autonomous
special administrative region of Hong Kong, being checked at the border much as
one would while travelling into Canada from the U.S. Immediately there is
the feeling that we are entering the Western world once more, though Hong Kong
is just a long bus ride from our hotel back in Shenzhen.
I’m boarding the flight with mixed emotions and surely with
lasting memories. I thank God for our safe travels, the unique
opportunities we have been presented, the new friends we have made, and the
successes of these past ten days.
Archbishop John Carroll, pray for us and intercede for the
continued good work of our school that proudly bears your name.
