[china, man]

Just got back to the Jersey. Unfortunately, I couldn't post any blogs during my trip (damn you communism). Here are a few notes..

• I smell like jetlag.
  
  
• I got a farmer's tan.
  
  
• I've eaten eel, sea cucumber, donkey, and hare
  
  
• Late night Tsingtao beer runs to 7-11 is bringing my tolerance back. Yes, they have 7-11. Yes, they serve beer at 7-11.
  
  
• You know you travel a lot when you memorize your passport number.
  
  
• All Asians look Chinese in China.
  
  
• I’ve learned the art of haggling.
  
  
• The tea at Chinese tea shops looks like marijuana.
  
  
• We’ve enhanced Chinese-American relations through the game of Beer Pong and Kings… among other things.
  
  
• I’ve come to remember one word in Mandarin. “Rutto” …which means “Nipple”

One more reflection I wanted to point out is a quote from a Chinese avante-garde artist I met at 798 in Beijing...

"How big the world is depends on how big your heart is."

This probably sums up the reason why I travel. Not merely to get away, but to get out there. The world economy is going global and maybe I should be. "A Filipino globalist" has a good ring to it, huh?

One way to start is China. I met Seton Hall alumn Ted Leung in Shanghai who proposed the idea of the "globalist". A similar mentality I want to bring to FLASH. Globalism in the sense of immersing ourselves in different cultures and communities.

There's a lot of potential in China...capital, resources, labor. In the global economy, they are the next big thing (pun intended). I've always told my eboard that the new FLASH should start trends instead of following them. The end result? I want communities both on and off-campus to see us as an investment.

Upon my arrival I've been greeted by new gigs and Hooters wings. God Bless the U.S.A.
-Matt