Ni Hao!

Back when I was in middle school, upon returning to the classroom in August, the teacher would often ask me to write an essay about what I did that summer. I always preferred these, mostly because writer's block was not a concern; I can almost always remember things for at least three months, at least well enough to write them down. This post here is one of those essays. Well, close. Summer isn't exactly over yet. For me, it just started last Monday evening. So rather than "what I did this summer," this is more about "what I will do this summer." In order to make this easier to read, I've broken up my summer into five blocks of time: now through June 9, June 9-24, June 24-28, June 28-August 5, and August 5 until August 20. I'm not sure if that's less or more confusing, so just bear with me.

The first part of the summer (and probably the least interesting), until June 9, will occur mostly in Spring. My primary goals are (1) to prepare for the rest of the summer and (2) to go through my old items and discard/sell those which I don't need. I'll also be taking a short getaway with my family to Rhode Island and Massachusetts to get some beach time, enjoy the cooler weather, and see interesting New England cities and historical sites.

I will spend June 9-24 in Macau (transiting through Hong Kong) with friends from my church in Waco. We'll be working working with our contacts in Macau to help the Macanese and Chinese people we encounter in any way we can, which will include distributing several thousand packets containing various pieces of literature. You might have gotten a letter with full details regarding this trip from me in the mail earlier this month, but if you didn't (or even if you did), feel free to give me a ring any time between now and June 9. I'd love to talk about the trip.

One fun detail of my trans-Pacific journey: my flight to Hong Kong includes a 12-hour daytime layover in Toronto, from 2pm to 2am. I chose this itinerary on purpose, since I've never been to Canada before and I've heard that it's beautiful during the summer. Some would balk at such a long layover, but I like to think of it as a nearly free chance to tour a Canadian city. In fact, this layover marks Part 1 of my  Summer 2012 Whirlwind Tour of Canada, with the second and final part consisting of a similar 12-hour (11am-11pm) daytime layover in Vancouver on the return flight from Asia. If you know any must-sees in either of these fine Canadian cities, please let me know.

The third part, June 24-28, will be spent in unspecified places doing unspecified activities. I'm not being coy; I really have no idea what I am going to do during this time, other than make my way from Hong Kong to Shanghai (where the next activity, i5, is starting). If you have any suggestions, let me know. Update: I now have a plan for these days! I'll be staying with some very hospitable family friends in Suzhou.

The biggest chunk of my summer will be June 28 through August 5 with Baylor's i5 program. It's a traveling program, which means I'll get to see many, if not most, of the biggest cities in China:  Shanghai, Chengdu, Hong Kong, Macau, Ningbo, Beijing, and Xian, among others. In addition to appealing to my wanderlust, it will also help me academically and professionally. The meat of the program involves working with multinational corporations to develop technology-related business and marketing plans. It's a wonderful and challenging opportunity, and though I sometimes feel that I might be in over my head, I'm being accompanied by lots of smart people (professors, lawyers, and MBA students) who will be there to guide and mentor me.

Finally, I'll be flying home from China on August 5-6, and then starting classes at Baylor on August 20. I probably won't have time to do much more than unpack (from China) and repack (for Waco), although I hope to spend a few days at the beach or lake with my family. Update: I'll be traveling with the rest of my family to Santa Barbara and Los Angeles on August 9-16 to catch up with relatives and to move Ryan to San Diego, where he'll start his second year as a Point Loma student.

So that's it. My exciting, scary, and somewhat crazy plans for Summer 2012. I think I've covered all of the details, but if I left out something you'd like to know, just leave a comment or contact me in another way. Also, if you'd like, please pray for me and the people I will be traveling with, especially that we would be safe and healthy and that many opportunities would be open to us.