It is with heavy heart that I write this as I have just learned that a former employee, but more importantly... a friend, as passed away this day.  Mike Noe was a man of sharp intellect and kind heart.  He brought happiness to us at Centennial BOCES and his passing is very much too soon.  I shall miss him.

Guilin is a land of spectacular scenery and rich culture.  Here, there is an array of what people in China describe as the "ethnic minorities."  These are peoples who speak their own languages but are unified by the pictographic Chinese characters.  In all, over 30 minorities constitute less than 10% of China's population which is dominated by the Han people.  Here, the minority cultures flourish and express their heritage with pride.  We have ridden in river boats and floated on rafts with them.  We stood awe struck at the endless march of mountains that look as if they were dropped from heaven by some majestic artist.  The sub-tropical environment means everything is green, wet and alive.  We watched in wonder as cormorants fitted with rings about their necks dove into the water to catch fish for the men who trained them.  We rode bicycles through the hills and found the land flat and easy to ride as we manuevered around spectular mountain after spectacular mountain.  We stopped at a local villager's home where the man of 65 demonstrated how he could lift a stone over his head; a feat matched by only one or two in our own youthful party.  The doorway to his home was adorned with a mirror an scissors to frighten away the demons and inside was a portrait of Mao.  We swam in the Li river, walked the streets of local markets tuned to our presence and haggled for prices that we could believe were great bargains.  We watched 600-actor theatre on the water with rafts, lights and song.

So now we prepare to leave and there is already talk of returning.  Fantasies of renting the flat canoes of this river and living upon the water for weeks.  Ideas for hiking 100 mountiains beyond the 9 sacred peaks race through the mind.  It has been like drinking from a firehose and finding your thirst unquenched.

So now we prepare to depart and I for one promise to come back.  I must.  I simply must come back.