As most of you know, I’m taking 22 students to China and Korea, beginning
tonight. We leave Chicago at 1 a.m. for Seoul, then on to Beijing. When
we’re in China, we’re visiting Xian, Shanghai, and Xiamen, then to Hong
Kong and Macau. We fly to Seoul for a week in Korea, including a night at
a Buddhist monastery, which might be a lot like a “cabin campout.”
You’ll be getting e-mails and snailmails for a snapshot picture of what I
think is happening, and what’s changing.
I will follow with great interest the activities of Troop 19. You’ll be in
great hands with the parents who’ve given us such great support; it says a
lot about them that I can leave, and the troop functions well.
I’ll be back June 4. After the trip with students is over, I’m headed to
Tsingtao for a visit (and a marketing look at the Tsingtao Brewery,
founded in 1903 by Germans–who then occupied Tsingtao), and then for a
few days into southwestern China, the province of Yunnan, for a look at
some of the minority peoples in the predominantly (over 90%) Han People’s
Republic of China.
I’ll miss you, but I hope to continue to educate, even from a distance.
Have a great month, and study; remember Thomas Friedman’s World is Flat
comment–children in Asia are hungry for your jobs!
Good grades and good Scouting!