Last night, I had dinner with another old friend, Steve Gardner, and his family. His wife, Alina, is originally from China and they have two boys, Stockton and J.J. They are teaching at a school down in Changsha, Hunan Province and were in Taipei for a short vacation. Luckily I caught them just as I came back from Oahu. We had some great discussions about travel and people that we know. I am thinking of taking a trip to Egypt, to peruse the antiquities on display there, so when I found out they had been there I was excited to hear about it.

Steve also told me of his brother, who is attending Harvard at the moment. His brother came to China and gave a paid lecture on how Harvard’s students handle stress and the academic workload. Steve thought Beijing would be fertile for a workshop like this and if I would be interesting in starting the ball rolling when I returned that city. I told him I would think about it, not because I think it is unimportant, but because I really do not know what my situation will be like when I go back.