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Where I Come From
A Chinese student, a talented English major from a university in Hunan, China, asked me to describe my hometown. This is what I wrote: Smethport is very different from Chenzhou. It is like a dream that I’m afraid will seem unreal or too abstract for you to realize. Words alone are not enough to describe the beauty, wonder, and charm of my home town. But I will try. Right now it is a very special time of the year in which we celebrate the birth of our country, the Declaration of Independence and like your country, a revolution against Imperial tyranny. Now the weather is much like Kunming in the…
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Matt Muller — Smethport’s China Connection
Smethport resident Matt Muller is off to teach English at a university in Hunan province in south central China. The province is famous for its spicy cuisine and the birthplace of Chinese Communist revolutionary Mao Zedong. The major city there is Chenzhou, home to about 4.5 million people, most of whom live in the surrounding countryside. After learning that he would have to wait at least a year before enrolling in a master’s level physician assistant program, Matt decided to go on yet another international adventure, having already visited many countries in Europe, Africa and South America. This time the target of his wanderlust is Asia; specifically, China. Continued on…