After only eight days in China, I feel that I am a more mature and global person than I was before the trip. It was a humbling experience to be in a place where history goes back thousands of years. Society in China wasn't the opposite of society in this country, but it was completely different. I believe that everyone in our group took something important away from the trip, it would be hard not to. I didn't like how the concept of personal space was absent due to the sheer volume of people in China. Life seemed very public and I imagine it would be hard to live privately. I did like how we were able to visit popular tourist spots as well as the parts of China that normally only see Chinese people. The hike up the Great Wall was my favorite part of the trip. William's story, accomplishments, and life in general made me think about how shallow and plastic my life story will seem compared to his when I'm his age. How many people end up living their childhood dream?

Visiting China opened my world view. I am now far more interested in experiencing foreign cultures than I was prior to the trip. Outside of the United States, I had only been to Tijuana, Montreal, and Aruba before the trip. Nothing I saw in any of those places compares to the things we saw in China.

I still don't understand China. All of its history, culture, and people combine to form the largest nation in the world. Maybe there isn't anything to understand, and China simply is and always has been. I really hope that we never go to war against China. We would probably lose and/or end up launching nukes.

With world peace just far off and wishful thinking, I am interested to see how China's development unfolds in the future. I would like to go back there some day and see more of the country and its culture. We were given a huge opportunity with the China Mojo class and I will remember this trip for the rest of my life.