Northwest China

For some reason, I have always had a keen interest in Northwest China and Central Asia, and therefore, being able to do a service learning tour to Gansu province this winter was a dream come true. About two weeks ago, Stephen and I brought 7 of our students to Gansu, where we set up some computer infrastructure and taught some IT classes for a primary school that caters to destitute orphans. You can read more about the details in the community service blog.

Remembering the harsh landscape of the land there, it is only too obvious why this province is among the poorest in China. I have been to desert regions before, but somehow they have never seemed as desolate as this. The tenacity of the human spirit is amazing. The human ability to survive is no less so.

You can see some more pictures on my Flickr album. I will post more here when I have collected my thoughts.