Hosts broke out bottles of expensive orange soda that they freely mixed with expensive warm beer. We could not escape drinking this any more than we could escape our government-assigned “guide,” whose job was to strictly monitor visitors like us. My students were coal mining engineers preparing to study abroad, so that they might bring back safer mining techniques. After class, my students would bring stools out to the basketball court where, each facing a different direction, they would sit and study for hours on end. Loving their country and wanting to make it strong, they were grateful for Westerners like me.

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Persons: “ Organizations: Shandong Mining Institute Locations: Nanjing, China, Shanghai