and where should I go?

I had told the group -- a PostDoc cohort at the University of Utah -- that I had degrees from four "schools" -- engineering, science, humanities, and business -- plus five minors. Moreover, I had worked in five major disciplines, one of which was one of the nine areas of study. Thus, my conclusion is that you cannot, certainly should not consider your schooling to be the ticket for your career.

So what did I recommend? First, it is obvious that the world is being "connected" in such a way that every professional will need to link with others across distance, time, and culture. So learning how to use the tools that facilitate this seems paramount. Second, it is obvious that explicit learning is the least apt to brng strategic value or insight, let alone empathy or community. Thus physical travel becomes key. I rccommended three weeks in a foreign country every two years for a decade to build that visceral understanding. A decade of that, and you'd have a chance.

Afterward, a beautiful woman came forward, and said "where should I go?" I asked 'where have you been?' She'd been born in the Ukraine, traveled to London as an adult, then to California, her dream. She'd been in the US 7 yeare. I brightly said, "CHINA"! She retorted that she already knew China. I said "how?" She said she'd read books, watched documentaries, and talked to Chinese friends. I asked if she'd known about the US that same way and she nodded vigourously. But upon asking if the US was like she learned while in the Ukraine, or even London, and she replied, "oh my NO."

I was silent. Maybe a minute went by, she said YES

Nothing beats bein' there, doin' that