{"id":2725,"date":"2018-03-29T15:51:28","date_gmt":"2018-03-29T15:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kleducation.org\/?p=2725"},"modified":"2018-03-29T19:37:20","modified_gmt":"2018-03-29T19:37:20","slug":"international-exchange-program-manager-makes-travel-a-priority-in-his-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cambridgenetwork.cn\/cambridge-international-en\/2018\/03\/international-exchange-program-manager-makes-travel-a-priority-in-his-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Phil Makes Travel a Priority"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Isa Chen, KL Marketing Associate<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first time I walked into KL\u2019s office in Chongqing, I recognized the KL Exchange Programs<\/a> board on the wall of my new office and I guessed that it belonged to Shen Lei (Phil).\u00a0Having just come from working in the US office, I had often heard Phil\u2019s name (and his laugh!) from the numerous video meetings our two offices held regularly. But who\u00a0exactly would I be sharing office space with?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How wonderful to meet Phil in person! As he took the initiative to explain China office details to me (starting with the oh-so important Wi-Fi password!), and patiently answered my questions about his work, I could see that my new office mate was a warmhearted and thoughtful man. It wasn\u2019t long before I realized that he was also a person full of curiosity and wonder. After admiring my makeshift stand-up desk, he declared with an admiring face, “How clever! What a great way to work. I’m going to buy something similar this weekend.”<\/p>\n

\"Isa<\/p>\n

Isa (L) and Phil (R) hard at work at their makeshift stand-up desks<\/em><\/p>\n

Upon noticing my black coffee cup that displays a beautiful image only when filled with tea, he began frequently and spontaneously filling my cup with hot water saying, \u201cI just want to watch it change color.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Color<\/p>\n

The infamous color-changing coffee mug<\/em><\/p>\n

This sort of fascination with life is what makes Phil so very good at his job. As KL Exchange Program Manager for our students in China, Phil handles operations for our short-term international youth exchange programs, giving students the opportunity to live, study, and experience life in a US school. In his free time, he and his wife take weekend trips often to surrounding areas. \u201cDifferent places not only have different customs, cultures, and landscapes, but they have different tastes. No matter a region\u2019s culinary specialty, I am drawn to places I\u2019ve never been in order to taste food I\u2019ve never eaten.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tasting<\/p>\n

Trying a mango ice shake in Ciqikou – an ancient town in Chongqing<\/em><\/p>\n

Phil chose youth exchange programs as a career because he loves to travel. Now, six years later, he can see that his job only makes his leisure trips more rewarding. In fact, he views every weekend excursion as research for his exchange program planning. But how does he decide where to go? At the end of the day, there\u2019s one factor that helps him choose his travel destinations. \u201cMy mouth and my stomach always lead me to the right place!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Travelling<\/p>\n

Oftentimes Phil takes a spontaneous journey to help him unwind from work, or a trip with friends to build closer relationships and meet new people. Sometimes he plans an elaborate and lengthy trip. But all of it inspires him with ideas for future exchange programs. \u201cTravel broadens horizons and helps you see the world in a new way,\u201d he says. \u201cLike the old Chinese saying goes, \u2018It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books’. Everyone should see the outside world, but more importantly, let the outside world see you. You will come to understand more people and more cultures, and to me that’s the real meaning of ‘exchange’.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Travelling<\/p>\n

Phil visiting Chengdu Park with wife Amy<\/em><\/p>\n

Learn more about the transformative experiences we offer students at our KL Schools<\/a> and in our KL Exchange Programs<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Isa Chen, KL Marketing Associate The first time I walked into KL\u2019s office in Chongqing, I recognized the KL Exchange Programs board on the wall of my new office and I guessed that it belonged to Shen Lei (Phil).\u00a0Having just come from working in the US office, I had often heard Phil\u2019s name (and his laugh!) from the numerous video meetings our two offices held regularly. But who\u00a0exactly would I be sharing office space with?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridgenetwork.cn\/cambridge-international-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2725"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridgenetwork.cn\/cambridge-international-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridgenetwork.cn\/cambridge-international-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridgenetwork.cn\/cambridge-international-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridgenetwork.cn\/cambridge-international-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2725"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridgenetwork.cn\/cambridge-international-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2736,"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridgenetwork.cn\/cambridge-international-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2725\/revisions\/2736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridgenetwork.cn\/cambridge-international-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridgenetwork.cn\/cambridge-international-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridgenetwork.cn\/cambridge-international-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridgenetwork.cn\/cambridge-international-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}