The state of the world, running over a foot, and my best class ever

Music: Dragostea Din Tei by O-Zone (also known as the numa numa song made famous by an extremely funny homemade dance video)

So the other day we were given a lecture by John Louton (I think that’s his name) from the American concolate here in Chengdu. He was amazing. Very knowledgeable about world concerns. Very open, and honest. Wasn’t afraid to point out shortcomings in both the U.S. and China. Was extremely informative about U.S. and Chinese relations. And lived in Zambia for a number of years both before I went and recently, so tied stories and facts from there into his talk, which made it even MORE interesting for me. It sparked several discussions and debates among the group, but it was exciting to hear everyone’s insights. It’s amazing to be part of the young generation. The one that will be in charge in a couple decades. Of course I doubt the people I know will hold lots of power, but still. It was also slightly depressing to hear all the things he said too. Like that we are going to be hit with an Avian flu epidemic that will touch most if not all of the world and kill so many people it’s almost unimaginable. That’s scary. Sometimes it’s hard to stay hopeful, but I’ve been reflecting on the fact that people have thought they would see the end of the world in their life time for generations and generations. The apostles did. Remember the 2000 scare. Until now, I always thought their fears were silly, but for the first time I see why they might have felt that way. I’m too much of an optimist to truely think that, but I don’t wonder anymore why they thought that way. But of course, they were all wrong 🙂
So the other day Abby and I were on bus 56 coming back from town. We had gone in to explore and take a long awaited pedicab ride (that was amazing :). We went to the underground, then to KFC, and then a couple of shops in Shin She Lou and then back to campus. At KFC I got what looked like a simple chicken sandwhich but which turned out to have carrots and peas baked in with the chicken. It was SO good. ANYWAYS, back to the bus. As we were rounding one of the corners, we stopped really suddenly. It turned out we had run over a young man. Only his foot was run over, but it was pretty mangled. I felt retched. I knew though that it was going to happen eventually. My bigger fear was that I’d be in a vehicle that killed someone, and that hasn’t happened thankfully.
Ok, I was going to write about class today, but I remembered that I promised Sarah a head massage, so I’ll do that tomorrow. I love you all and am SO excited that I get to see you soon. Thankyou for all the e-mails and IM conversations. 😀

Advertisement