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Dr. Jones travels to China

By Amber Tuesday Green
[email protected]
Staff Writer

This past summer, Dr. Bruce Jones, chair of the division of business and continuing education, took a trip to China funded by a Fulbright-Hayes Grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

He was accompanied by a group of people including staff from Reinhardt College and two high school social studies teachers from Cherokee County, Ala.

Dr. Virginia Carson, vice president of academic affairs for Georgia Highlands College, helped write the grant in cooperation with Reinhardt.

The group left the states on May 31 and returned on June 30. They traveled to places such as Beijing, Shanghai, Urumqi, Daju Turpan, KashgarLijiang, Kunming, Dali, Yongning, Baisha and Zhongdian.

While on the trip, the group studied the efficiency and effectiveness of The Great Western Development Program. This program was designed and targeted to develop the rural areas of China.

One thing Jones noticed was how inexpensive it is to live in China. �First of all, the cost of living there is so incredibly low that it�s embarrassing,� he said. �You could visit China on a family vacation for about what a beach vacation would cost -- think $40 hotel rooms and $2 meals.�

Dr. Jones stands in front of the Dadu China Sichuan Province. There are many other interesting things about the Chinese culture Jones noticed. For example, he found that the Chinese parents spoil their children greatly, most of the young people speak English and everyone has a cell phone, even Buddhist monks!

Jones� reason for going on the trip was simply curiosity. �I wanted to see how things were different in different parts of China,� he said.

When asked if he would be returning to China this summer, he said he would like to, and if not this summer then in the near future. He was even offered a teaching job over the summer with a Chinese professor from Dalton State University who went on the trip with him.

�I would like to encourage all those interested in pursuing an international experience. I�ve waited years to do so myself.� Jones stated.

�It never seemed to be the right time, but the experience was well worth the sacrifice. The trip was truly the trip of a lifetime.�