Tale of two cities whets the appetite for adventure

Arriving in China during the fall of 2016, I was immediately struck by the dynamism of my adopted city of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, as previously, I had spent two years living and working in Ethiopia. Different in many respects from East Africa, and similarly unlike my home country of the United States, I was excited to begin a new chapter in my life, embracing change. After all, change is how we grow.

Teaching at a STEM university in Shenzhen, I had a front-row seat to the altering landscape of not only tertiary education, but by extension, to a vibrant high-tech community, which by all accounts, is nurtured in that southern megalopolis. From innovators to incubators, Shenzhen was (and is) a microcosm of the larger world: the exploration of new ideas through the fostering of creativity. While I taught critical thinking skill sets to my college students, who were learning how to code, design, and create machines, each of us use unique approaches to logic, and the circuitous, not linear, routes which are sometimes demanded.

Outside academic settings, Shenzhen also provided me with an insight into the vastness of China, acting as a migrant melting pot of sorts for people from across the country. Uniquely Guangdong, while at the same time celebrating diversity, the coastal city was the perfect landing spot for someone like myself, who has traveled around the world, and finds consolation in multiculturalism. During my six years there, it was the variety of food, which perhaps, had the biggest impact on how I learned to appreciate the many facets of Chinese culture.