In the evening I dined with Ms. Fang as planned. To our surprise and delight, who should arrive in the restaurant and stand beside our table but John Strong, Robin's instructor, his wife, who also teaches English, and their two-year-old son! John is a lean, bearded young man with a winning smile, who is a professional photographer turned language teacher. He is modest, and seemed embarrassed at my praise of his effectiveness as a teacher; but I am certain of his talent.

Many are the bonds that bind Chinese and Americans: English, the international language; our admiration for Chinese cuisine; convergence of our economies; and the political ideals that America represents and that many Chinese long for. This evening at dinner, it was a common interest in music that helped to harmonize our cultures. The Chinese guitarist alternated popular Chinese songs with such local favorites as Simon and Garfunkel's Sounds of Silence and Creedence Clearwater Revival's Stuck in Lodi Again.

We joined the other patrons, even taking the microphone at one point as everyone engaged in 'singalongs'. Most Westerners were limited to the English tunes.

After dinner I offered to take Robin by taxi to the wharf where she could board the ferry to cross the Yangtze. She protested; she holds a student pass for the bus (saving one yuan, 12 cents) and another pass for the ferry (saving 10 yuan, $1.20). I asked how she would travel the mile from the ferry landing to her home. She said, "My father will meet me with his bicycle and take me home." I was persuaded that she would have a swift, safe passage despite the travel in lonely darkness. Later she called me to report her arrival home.

Despite an oppressive government, the Chinese prosper in remarkable ways, not least in their practice of economy, their intense desire to learn from others, and their indomitable spirit.