My China Experience 16b

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

The Awakening
August 30, 2007 Well, after a long hot summer, the new school term is fast approaching. The summer holiday was long and wonderful, but as all good things go, there must be an end some day. The campus was a cross between something like a ghost town or a small town in Middle America somewhere. I would walk across campus and see maybe five or six students. I would see a few other non-students, as this campus attracts local citizens like a park, someplace to bring your small children to play or just a nice place to walk. I noticed a change coming on Friday. I saw maybe 20-30 students on campus. My senses immediately told me that change was in the air. The new term was almost here and the students were returning. This weekend was the end of the summer holiday. Classes were scheduled to begin on Monday.Saturday I walked the campus again, and this time I saw many more students….the campus was coming back to life. The normal 16,000 students would all be here by tomorrow. I could see the transformation every where I looked. This is one of the wonders I was witnessing, it was just like a big Grizzly Bear after a long hibernation. He slept for months, but now was the time he was scheduled to awaken. He resisted at first, as the sleep felt so good, but deep in his soul he knew he must wake up and resume his normal life. He would move one leg….just a little. He would take a deep breath and sample the air before committing to getting up. His awakening would take a few days from the first movement until full awake. He was breathing a little faster. His heart was beating faster almost back to its normal rate. His blood was flowing full speed through all his veins and arteries. His body was now urging him to open his eyes. His stomach was empty and needed nourishment. Finally on the third day, he would roll on his back so as to see the world, take a big stretch using all his muscles, than open his eyes. He would lumber out of the comfortable cave and resume his life. This campus was exactly like that. A campus in nothing without its students. The students are its life giving blood. It is Tuesday now. The new term is in full swing. The University campus has returned to what it should be…an active little world of its own, feeding the students minds with new, exciting knowledge, preparing them to take their place in society and slowly replace the last generation.I love being a part of this rebirthing process, to be a small part of the dramatic change occurring daily here in China. I love the thought of me leaving a few small fragments of knowledge in so many fertile minds that will lead China to its place as another leading world power. There was a TV commercial in America that used the line I’m thinking now…”It just doesn’t get any better than this”.