We're sailing up the Shanghai, China River as I reflect, now on a brief trip to Hong Kong. Heather and I had a fine time there, seeing the city from it's high points and from the underground subway. We saw it's largest, seated, outdoor bronze Buddha statue and it's mix of ancient, colonial and very cosmopolitan architecture in 'Central' (downtown). We walked, smelled, tasted and viewed what we could in 36 hours.
It was a great pleasure to speak for some time with family in Illinois for a while on the early morning of November 7th, local time. After some sleep and sightseeing on the 7th, Heather and I returned to the ship about 5pm and soon learned of the death of a current student, Kurt Leswing, of Milwaukee and the UW/Madison campus. Kurt was 21. He was struck by a vehicle in Hong Kong and died shortly thereafter on the early morning of Nov. 7th.
The outpouring of sympathy and prayers are much appreciated in this challenging time for Kurt's family, friends and the shipboard community. Thank you all for sending your thoughts and prayers from Illinois and beyond. Information can be found on the Semester at Sea website (www.semesteratsea.org). The staff and faculty on the ship have been working hard to help the community make sense of this tragic event. I'm not yet sure what to say, but it's a sad event.
More later,
Bill
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