China Trip - Conclusions

This Weblog was an ongoing work, that maybe even started with our classes, books and articles and the written part was concluded today on a sunny afternoon by the lake in Austin, TX.
I am also sure that this whole experience will have probably changed me going forward until the next opportunity I get to expand my horizons. Like a very good professor told me a few days before I left, I don't think I will be the same after the trip.

This journal is meant to be read from the bottom up, since the latest articles are on top, while the first articles are located at the bottom of the page.

In the end China is a land of contrasts that can't be compared to any other place or civilization without doing it an enormous injustice since no other place has seen the history it has been exposed to.
As a foreigner having visited China part of me feels slightly despaired for the country, the rate of growth at which it is moving is too fast to be compared with any other nation. The ecological, social, and economic results for what they are doing are unknown, and given the lack of protective measures (that would slow development) in place there is a huge possibility that the country may become polluted beyond repair, and its population may be so narrowly educated and trained that in the end China will once again fall into disrepair and become a world power that got sidetracked. On the other hand every developed nation underwant a period of high growth that allowed it to take a leadership position later in its history.
Some of the things that caught my eye by the level of use they had reached were cell phone usage. While people walking around the UT campus will get the impression that everyone has a cellphone in the US, I think that the use of cell phones in China severely outpaces that of the US. Additionally the amount of stores and different models available in the large cities would make any sprint or T-mobile store here jealous.
Another big contention point was driving in China. I have driven in Mexico, Argentina and Israel, and I thought those guys didn't know how to drive safely, but even in the small cities in China I had to keep my heart from coming out my mouth for fear of crashing into anything and everything. Although General Lee made fun of cars in Beijing as a method the government used to control overpopulation I was surprised that I didn't see any accidents on the road during my stay.
In the end it is my hope that everybody who reads this Blog enjoys it and realizes that this has been a short three week trip described by an outsider of that culture. I hope to be able to relive my trip by re-reading this many years from now and remembering the whole experience.

Sincerely,
The Author