Traveling

I am currently on a 19 hour layover in Seattle WA. It finally sunk in last night at the hotel that this was different from every other trip I have taken in my life. One I am by myself and two I am going to a country where English is not the primary language. I am very interested how well I am going to handle the language barrier. I have had experience communicating with individuals whose first language is not English and I have made it through that but I was not the minority.

I have had a few requests on some back ground information on why I am taking this trip. In simple terms the trip fell into my lap. I was talking to a recent professor (Dr. Thaler) about traveling internationally and how my study a broad trips had been cancelled. He mentioned the times he spent in China. This lead us into talking about the many changes that were happening so quickly over there in agriculture. I had heard several stories through the individuals at Pipestone Vet clinic. Through the multitude of connections Dr Thaler had developed in China we began to plan a 6 week trip to Beijing and the surrounding areas for me to learn about how agriculture is operated in China. I am going to be riding around with several different industry professionals. Including Gordon Spronk from Pipestone Vet Clinic, Wendell Burge of GSI and AP ventilation, Cao Zhijun (visiting dairies), Jason Yan, and the US Grains Counsel. I will be staying at China Ag University and spending time with several of there professors and researchers when I am not on the road. China Ag University (CAU) is the top agriculture school in China and in the top 5 overall.