August, 2015:

Today I took a high-speed train to another city. I was invited to talk about U.S. tourism with local government officials and members of the local tourism industry. I helped travel agencies understand the U.S. visa process. At lunch, I helped some visiting U.S. government officials to understand a little bit about Chinese drinking and toasting culture. Then I took the high-speed train back to the city I live in.

Today was the kind of day that I was hoping that I would have when I was applying to be a diplomat. I had hoped that I would be able to increase international understanding by helping communication between America and foreign governments. I had that kind of day today. I felt like a diplomat today.

Life is good.