When I started this blog a year ago, I envisioned it as a convenient way to keep my family and friends updated on my adventure in China. It turned out to be something far more meaningful.

Writing almost daily about what it’s like to live and teach in China connected me with thousands of readers whose knowledge of the Middle Kingdom gave me a better understanding of its culture, its people and its history.

They corrected mistakes, clarified misunderstandings, offered advice and taught me things I never could have learned from books or movies. They also posted laudatory comments that encouraged me to keep writing.

So thanks to everyone who read my blog, including those who told me I was an ignorant interloper. Looking back, I realize some of my observations were half-baked and ill-informed. First impressions are often wrong, and it took me a while to learn that there’s no way to simplify an ancient, complex country that is in the midst of one of the greatest transformations ever seen.

By the time I left China, I no longer felt like a Stranger in a Strange Land. I felt more like a fortunate witness to history.

I’m thinking of turning this blog into a book. If that happens, I’ll keep you posted. For now, 再见了，祝你好运 (goodbye and good luck).