After arriving in Beijing again, with a University degree under my belt, I
began my first experience of living overseas without my family. It was both
lonely, as well as exhilarating to live in a somewhat segregated dormitory 鈥?a
world of foreign students from a wide range of countries 鈥?floating amongst a
sea of Chinese students.

Since all our classes were held in the same building as our dormitory rooms, we
had relatively few opportunities to meet Chinese students. The main
opportunities were to meet at English corners, the Chinese students cafeteria
(most foreign students ate at their own better quality, more expensive, private
and segregated cafeteria), at restaurants, or on the sports field. But through
patience and a strong desire to mix despite our differences, we overcame the
language barriers, the differences in income, the cultural barriers, and the
barriers set by the University, and mix we did! Today, 10 years later, some of
my best Chinese friends are still the friends I met at University in 1991.

An enormous amount has taken place during the 11 years since I first visited
China. During that time I have lived in China for more than 8 years, most of it
in Beijing, but with a year spent living in both Nanjing and Guangzhou. My own
views on China have no doubt also altered over that time as China has
experienced such rapid growth and change, and as I have, over time, and through
travel to most parts of China, gained a better understanding of the size and
diversity of your country.

No longer do I find China such a bewildering place as I have come to
understand, if not always to agree, with Chinese views on such important topics
as the new world order, the death penalty, family planning, human rights and

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