First, some demographics. Of the 15,000 students at my university, five are from Finland and studying here in the fall. That's it. Next semester there will be zero international students. There are eight foreign teachers including me: two other Americans (one of whom is Chinese-American, and both of whom have a Chinese wife and child), two from the Philippines, and one each from England, Canada, and Japan. Five are around 30 years old, two are in their 50s. So I am the anomaly here in many ways. The city's demographics are similar but not quite as drastic. Changzhou is conveniently located for transportation to other places, but is no tourist destination itself. The first three times I went to the downtown area, I did not see a single foreigner. Since then, though, I have met several
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