China Trip for Women
Earlier this week, I met with World Trade Exchanges to begin the initial preparation for a trip to China that I’ll be leading next September.
The WTE, based in Redmond, WA, is a certified Women Business Enterprise (YEAH!) and connects people in commerce, education and the arts with their counterparts in other countries. My trip to Beijing, Shanghai and a yet to be determined city, will be with a group of women. The program centers around a theme (yet to be determined) and the WTE arranges for meetings with corporations, educators, arts organizations and government officials. Past participants rave about being treated like royalty by the organizers in China.
The purpose of these trips is to bring like-mind individuals together to learn about how other cultures do business/live/make art, etc. It’s a chance to be involved in an intimate learning environment and get beyond the surface of a culture.
I know first-hand how beneficial this can be to breaking down barriers and better understanding a culture. For a number of years, I was on the Board of Directors for the Greater Seattle Vietnam Association, a sister-city organization linking Seattle and Hai Phong, Vietnam. I traveled numerous times to Hai Phong and was warmly hosted by government officials, businesspeople and not-for-profits. The experience of traveling with a purpose other than as a tourist allowed me to see another side of Vietnam.
There are lots of opportunities to travel in which you can attain a deeper understanding of the culture. An ever-growing list of tours and volunteer opportunities can be found on the Links to Travel Sites page. If you have any other suggestions or stories you’d like to share from your volunteer or travel experience, please share!
Happy Travels!
My husband and I leave for a similar trade mission on November 1 — also going to Beijing, Shanghai and, our third city, Suzhou - the garden city.
I’ll come back and post how it went — I’m sure it will be fantastic. We’ve neither one been anywhere in Asia before.