The journey home began at 8:30 am on May 25th in
Hong Kong, and ended nearly 25 hours later on May 25th in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota. The China Ag group
bid farewell to Hong Kong and the Chinese experience as they boarded for a
nearly 15 hour-long flight to Chicago.
Despite the lengthy flight, the time was passed with conversations among
our new China Ag family and indulgence in personal touch screen televisions at
each seat.
Many enjoyed a bite to eat (mostly pizza and burgers),
sharing photo files and a quick nap at the Chicago airport before boarding for
Sioux Falls. Everyone excitedly noted
the familiarity of the sight of farms during our descent. We were greeted by family, friends, or
planned a shared ride home together. The
smiles and excitement were contagious as everyone reunited with loved ones and
shared final comments and memories before heading home for the final leg of the
journey. Dr. Gonda was even reunited
with both of his hats. Good luck hanging
onto those for the summer! Dr. Thaler
and Dr. Clay arrived home safely on Monday.
***
It’s amazing how quickly two weeks flew by. We traveled many miles by planes, trains and
busses, met with our governor, immersed ourselves in a culture with roots that
go back thousands of years, visited an array of agricultural enterprises both
large and small, government owned and private.
We shared in a world wonder as we scaled the Great Wall of China and
starred in the photographs of many locals!
We served as ambassadors of SDSU, of South Dakota and the United States,
leaving positive impressions through our interactions abroad.
Challenge yourselves to continue learning from your
experience for years to come. Compare
what you learned abroad to our agricultural practices in the US. Follow up with the economic growth and
agricultural development of China. Email
your friends from MAFIC. Teach others through
sharing your stories. Very few people in
the world have the opportunity to explore the world as you did. Thank you for choosing this experience, and
thank your families for supporting your decision.
Many times throughout this experience we referred to our
group as a family. We were proud of how
you took care of each other over the past two weeks. You reached out to develop new friendships
both amongst yourselves but also with your peers from MAFIC. We also appreciate the great conversations
and stories that you shared with the faculty.
Getting to know each of you was the highlight of this experience for
us! Please continue to keep in touch
with your new friends and with us over the years. We have all shared an amazing and incredible
life experience!
We are deeply proud of you and grateful to have shared in
this experience.
Best,
Dr. Thaler and Dr. Bott
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