Our visit to YUST , Yanji , China

In mid April we spent a week up in Yanji, China, a city in northern China near the Russian and North Korean border. John and I were invited to teach at Yanbian University of Science and Technology (YUST) College of Nursing. The university has four colleges: Nursing, Architecture, Languages and Business. Faculty come mainly from Korea, but we met some from the US, France and Australia as well. Buildings are all connected by elevated passageways called "The Great Wall" ( photo 1). The campus overlooks the city below ( photo 2). I was named an adjunct faculty and presented with a YUST pin by the Vice President ( photo 3). The faculty were warm and welcoming ( photo 4). We were amazed at the intelligent and dedicated students. We taught the seniors who were attentive and very fluent in English. (photo 5)

Before we left, we had the opportunity to travel up to the point where the borders of China, Russia and North Korea intersect. (photo 6). John and I stepped into North Korea by standing midway on the bridge which crosses the Tumen River ( photos 7 & 8). A highlight was meeting the Gomez family. They invited us to dinner at their apartment the last evening we were there. Guillaume ( the father) is from France and teaches French and computer science . Tess (his wife) is from Jamaica: they met in Beijing. Their three daughters (Rebecca, Rachel, and Stephanie) are delightful.