To Get to a Place Like This

I had the easy end of bargain today.  A young person, applying to my alma mater was coming down on high speed from Shenyang to meet and interview with me.  When he arrived at south station he’d need to spend another hour on the subway to get out to where I lived.  I checked on line, so I could explain the distance in terms the folks back at the university would understand.   “It’s like traveling from Detroit to where you are there.”

I suppose I did something not dissimilar once when I was his age.  I traveled with one of the teachers at my school, in a long car ride, which I scarcely remember, traveling, from the Hudson Valley out to his alma mater, at Oberlin.  I’d do a campus tour and get to stay at a dorm with a friend I’d known back in Westchester.  I seem to remember it felt like a paradise, with so many smart kids engaged in remarkably cool things.  It felt notably more free and intellectually energized than the dorms of the high school where I was a day student.  I couldn’t wait to get to a place like this.

I remember this teacher had glasses and curly hair and I believe he taught a “science” of one form or another and he had a mini van.  But I can’t remember his name or much of anything else about the trip out there.  I can only imagine I fell asleep early on and stayed that way till we rolled up.  That may have been the only time I’ve actually been to the state of Ohio, come to think of it. 

We had a good chat, this student from the north, and I.  He was, by the standards of this applicant pool, characteristically remarkable.  These are the sorts of kids who can only but give you remarkable hope for the future of China.  The China of optimistic, trilingual kids who necessarily do impactful charity and drive convincing artistic agendas while leading sports teams and pushing the boundaries of science.  He mentioned he had managed to find a flight home and I was very glad to hear this. 

Later I joined a client sales call while shopping for groceries.  I waited for twenty minutes, filling my cart, waiting for my turn to speak. We’re early in Chinese New Year and there wasn’t anything to report.  But I took the opportunity when it was my go, to mention how I hoped the company would say something about the about the Trump travel ban.  Any U.S. company with international operations should make their position on this matter clear.

Tuesday, 01/31/17