I will attempt via this blog to document and to share with you various details of my trip. Personally, I am interested to see how my perspective changes along the way. It would be naive to think that I can plan every day of this trip, every route/path that I will take, and predict every emotion and situation that I will encounter. Knowing this, brings mixed emotions, from excitement to trepidation. This is probably a good point to explain, why I have decided to take this “time out” and to travel/see/experience the world.
Honestly, you probably don’t need any real strong reason/excuse to see the world, but just in case, I have convinced myself of a few:
1) The world is becoming smaller and smaller every year. With the rapid change/advancement in technology and the strength of the media, the world is truly becoming smaller and smaller, and at the same time more similar. It wasn’t that long ago that for a country/province/city to develop from a historical agricultural community to a bustling developing metropolis, may have taken fifty if not more years. But now when you send your kid to college, they may not recognize it when they return home. This is just evolution and is a good thing, but what I want to see/witness/experience is the cultural landscape before it changes forever. If I am lucky enough, I may happen on some random town/area, where I can get a glimpse back in time, that truly reflects how their cultural is different than one that I am accustomed to.
2) The time is right. Now don’t get me wrong, by my statements above, that I think the world will look and act the same in a matter of years or decades. Its just that as the years go by, things do change, and its amazing how much each of our cultural influences one another, for example: look at the NBA and all the countries that are now represented. As a matter of fact, the NBA’s MVP the last three years has now been won by a German and a Canadian born in South Africa. You would be rich if you bet Vegas, just ten years ago, that this could actually happen. Another example: in 2001 I was fortunate enough to visit China, and during that trip to see the Three Gorges Dam project, we happened on a town, where many of the laborers lived. Its just about what one would expect for a town in China, in the middle of no where. Many kids ran around barefoot, the local open market had pigs hanging upside down, with snakes and other unique local delicacies, but the shocker was: the cell phone store in the middle of town, with the exception of the lack of an air conditioner, this cell phone store looked no different than any you would see in Orange County! Now this is probably not an American influence as many of the Asian and European countries are much more dependent on the cell phone then us. I know hard to believe, for all you Crackberry addicts, but remember we still have options to use land lines, where as many others do not.
3) Rites of Passage. Now, for personal reasons the time seems right to take this trip. Since adulthood (based on age, not maturity), I have worked hard, lived, had great experiences and met great people along the way, but for the most part lived my life in a distinct and defined manner/path. For those close to me, many would say that I am conservative in nature when it comes to risk. We may be splitting hairs, but my interpretation is that I am analytical in nature (after all I am an engineer), and I like to base my decision after I have reviewed the variables. And of course, this is where my friends say: I rest my case. But what this all means, is that I have lived my life in that manner to provide me the opportunity to take this trip, this is true on multiple fronts: work has provided me a leave of absence, my apartment is being sub-let during my trip, I have plenty of friends that have offered to watch my car for me (of course none have asked for the Civic), and I am not missing time from any wife or kid. Therefore, I am taking this trip with open arms, although it is in my nature to plan, I know that at some point in time, I will just follow my intuition or as they say: take me where the wind blows. And who knows, when I come back, it may be time to start that next phase of my life… buying furniture that actual matches 
4) Personal Reflection. As if I really needed one more reason, this is probably the most important, and is the common thread between all the aforementioned reasons. Born overseas, my family came to the States in 1978. Reflecting back, what would have seemed at the time, like a glass as half empty became half full, what was perceived as lemon, really became lemonade. We all have those certain incidents and circumstances that changes our life and those around us forever, but for me, everytime I reflect, I am thankful for all the opportunities that I have been given. It wasn’t so long ago, that when being born in a certain family, at a certain time, in a certain town, in a certain country, established what you can and can’t do for the rest of your life. Amazingly, in other countries that still rings true today, and for me to not take full opportunity of the choices that I have been given, by the mere fact that I live in this great country (despite all our own problems), would be to ignore the gift that we have all been given.
A short story may help sum it up: China 2001, after our meetings during the day, I would generally escape out to a local establishment to mingle with the locals. In Shanghai that was more difficult, as the bars that were open late, generally catered to the tourists, so I had the cab driver drop me off at a bar with the most local flavor. So he took me to a bar, where they spoke only a little English. I hit it off, right away with the three employees: the bartender (girl in her 30s), waitress (around 20) and the busboy (around 18). It was a quiet night for them, so we spent a few hour talking about growing up in China and they wanted to know what life was like for a Chinese in America. They were so excited to finally have the opportunity to ask an American some questions, as it is usually the other way around, and they are not allowed to pry. But I gave them carte blanche to ask any questions they wanted. It was amazing how much they knew from the media, but also how much of an impact Hollywood really had. The shock came, when we talked about academic pursuits for the busboy, and career goals for the waitress and bartender. They were very excited for me, a Chinese, to become an engineer in America, and was curious how that happened. Was I the first born, was I born into a rich or important family, did my family have special influences? I explained to them that it was no big deal, and joked that math comes easy to us, and it just comes with schooling. The shock was when I asked them, what their career goals/aspirations were. The waitress, said office worker. I figured that my Chinese was bad, and that it didn’t translate directly, so I asked her to clarify which person/profession that works in an office. She explained, that her dream ever since she was a little girl, was to work in an office building, she wanted to wear a business suit and maybe carry a brief case into a building with many windows. She wanted to be able to tell everybody that she worked in that building you can see from across the street or even across town. She dreams that there was file cabinets everywhere, and noise down every aisle, and from every room. But beyond that, she had no idea of what each person does in the office, or even what she wanted to do. She just wants to work in an office building, and believes that it is only a dream, and that it will not be her life, as she was born by her mother with her father, in that town two hours away, where she has to take three buses just to get to her waitress job. Where her pay does not allow for her to afford any food or drink until she gets home, but for her she is happy, as she knows of other kids who have alot less.
