Wow! Today was our last full day in China. I am looking forward to getting home to see my family. However, I will miss the daily new experiences and insights I have been enjoying here in the "Middle Kingdom."
We spent the morning at the Shanghai Museum. Among the numerous collections with items dating back for hundreds of years (in some cases thousands of years), my favorite was the coin and paper money collection. I find the symbols humans use to convey exchange value to be very interesting and telling.
Fudan University (in Shanghai) was our afternoon stop. It was a good opportunity to meet with faculty and students affiliated with the Institute of Social Development and Public Policy. After introductions from both delegations, we took turns talking about our interest areas, and then there was an open discussion of social science issues in China. Turn out was great, especially given that today was a Chinese holiday. After the formal part of the meeting, we had smaller, more informal discussions. I really appreciated having the opportunity to interact with the students from Fudan. They are passionate about their studies and eager to learn.
I am writing this quickly, because time is limited before we have our farewell dinner at Dingxiang Garden. Tomorrow morning we will all be leaving Shanghai. Some of the people in the group will go to the locations of the extended trips, while others of us will return to our homes. Along with Larry Troy, I will fly from Shanghai to Beijing, and then switch planes and fly to San Francisco. There we will part company, and I will fly to Memphis with a layover in Texas. My lovely wife will meet me in Memphis!
After my return to the states and recuperation from the jet lag, I will begin posting some of my reflections on the time in China and what I observed. Additionally, the group will have a blog sponsored by the American Sociological Association. Once it is ready, I will post that address on this site.
In the meantime... I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog.
To all of the folks on the China trip - I really had a great time traveling and getting to know you.
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