The question asked of the J-term trip to China is, "Do people in your host culture share PLU's stated commitment to educating for justice, health, sustainability, and peace?" Having not exactly been their yet, I know no exact details. Many could say through biased mouthes that any country opposed to another countries supposed set of definitions for those afore mentioned factors of education that the country does not share those commitments. But I expect to find at the base of things that they do hold such goals as important.

Goals such as justice, health, sustainability, and peace are rather general pillars of order for any society and I believe are the goals that every individual entity (be it a nation or single human being) strives for, often indirectly. I expect that such concepts in China are addressed differently than here in the States, and that no matter the differences we will have things to learn from one another. Its not to say that various aspects of the realities of either nation's existence aren't ugly, sad, or horrifying as much are the realities of the people that comprise them. It is only through finding these things and dwelling upon them that we can find the ideas of Justice, Health, Sustainability, and Peace within us and communicate our conceptions of them to others. I hope to find some semblance of these ideas within the various aspects of Chinese culture in my short weeks there, discover how they can help others, and discover how hey can help me with my own search for Justice, Health, Sustainability, and Peace, these most broad of concepts, in my own life.