Nanjing

There’s a famous quote that says, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”

I definitely had a light-bulb moment when I read that quote, because I recently visited Nanjing. That I traveled to China was something of a happenstance, that I arrived there one day ahead of the conference, also a happenstance. It was only when I landed that I realized the congress had not officially started. What I do know for sure is that the day coincides with my daughter’s birthday. I don’t know if my words could ever make up for my mistakenly early flight. But I would be remiss if I did not try.

Much in the same way a student skips class, I found myself a good excuse to spend time hiking on the day of pre-congress session more for the youth nephrologists.

As I traipsed the mountain routes in Nanjing, I learned to appreciate an off-season travel opportunity. Part of the sense of feeling whole and complete came from the joy of exploring a new place, besides attending and giving lectures in a conference.