China Study Tour: A short visit — University of Illinois Extension Blog

July 15, 2008

A short visit

On July 6 and 7 Vice Chairman Qiang Lianqing, Vice President Jin Xianghong and Zhong Mingdong (Pauline), Director Office of International Exchange & Cooperation of Sanda University visited University of Illinois Extension. They arrived in the afternoon of July 6 and were welcomed by Virginia and me at their hotel. We really enjoyed seeing our old friends Pauline and Vice President Jin again. The evening was spent pleasantly talking over dinner with Dr. Campion, Richard Clark and Ryan Hobson. Our friends were slightly exhausted, for Illinois wasn't the first stop on their trip to the US, but seemed to enjoy the welcome.

During the next morning Virginia and I took our visitors on a tour across campus to give them an impression of what life is like at the U of I. They were stunned by the size of the campus and by the diversity of programs offered. After the tour, we met with members of Extension's administrative staff to discuss future projects, especially the upcoming visit of three of their faculty from the English department. Hua Keren, Gao Jing and Wen Ya will arrive in Chicago tomorrow, July 16 and will stay in Illinois until August 26. Members of our delegation to China together with 4-H colleagues have prepared a detailed schedule for our guests which will enable them to learn about 4-H as well as American education and lifestyle while they are here. Several of our colleagues across the State have graciously offered their homes to our guests for overnight stays while on the road through Illinois. I am sure that will contribute a lot to the cultural experience of Keren, Jing and Ya! I am very curious to see how they will feel about the US and what their impressions are going to be.

The visit of the group of administrators from Sanda ended with a meeting with Dr. Brustein, Associate Provost for International Affairs. We discussed topics like student exchange programs and other forms of cooperations with Dr. Brustein. Afterwards, Virginia and I brought the three back to their hotel and said our goodbyes as they took off again to drive back to Chicago.

This was a very brief visit indeed but we nevertheless were more than happy to see our relationship flourish on different levels. Now we are looking forward to welcome Keren, Jing and Ya. Their visit will be much longer and we will have ample time to catch up with them and hopefully make them feel as welcome and at home away from home as they had made us feel in April!

Posted by Martina Mohrbacher at 2:38 PM |