s surprise， Marcia， who had always hated being hospitalized， did notreject the idea that day. Maybe she knew that she had completely losther ability to take care of herself. Furthermore， she knew that if shedidn’t go to the hospital， Tang would never go to Yunnan.
“Go！” was Marcia’s firm statement regarding Tang’s trip to Yunnan.
“I am a human being. A human being has feelings. How can Ileave you alone at this moment，” Tang exclaimed.
The children were moved to tears. But Tang shed no tears， andneither did Marcia. “You should go since you have made so much124 preparation. Everything is ready. So you should go. You should go. she calmly repeated.
To respect Mother’s wishes， the children told Tang that he shouldgo. Only Xiaonan， the younger daughter， kept silent.
“Xiaonan， what’s your opinion?” Tang asked.
“Mom， are you sure you really want Father to go?” Xiaonan saidlooking at Mother.
“Yes. I would not be happy if he didn’t go.” Marcia said in aweak but firm voice.
Tang understood his wife very well. He knew she couldn’t makeherself fully understood in Chinese. He expressed her meaning with aChinese idiom， saying “she means that she would ‘die without closingher eyes’ if I did not go. The departure day was nearing. Marcia， who didn’t like being inthe limelight， unexpectedly agreed to make a recorded speech for theopening ceremony of the Green Camp. She earnestly prepared the textof the speech.
“I am very proud of all of you. You’ve all been eager and willingto help and to cooperate with one another. That’s the right spirit withwhich to begin your trip.
“You are off to learn about nature. I hope you won’t just admirethe grand vistas and spectacular trees and animals. To experiencenature you must learn toknow it intimately. Thattakes patience and humility.
I remember when I
went on a backpacking tripinto the wilderness of theGreat Smoky Mountains inNorth Carolina， our groupguide advised us to learnthe names of all the wildflowers we saw. He said if we were to go to a party and found people there we’d never seen before，we would be sure to learn their names and something about them.
It should be the same when we go into the wilderness.
“And not just in the wilderness either. One day I was watchingthe swallows flying back and forth to their nests under our eaves herein Beijing when I suddenly noticed they had red patches between theirtails. I immediately looked them up in my bird book and discoveredthey were red-rump swallows， a species I had never seen before. Weshouldn’t be content to say， ‘Oh， those are swallows; those are sparrows.’
What kind of sparrows? We should honor them with the sameindividuality that we want others to see in us.
“So I hope you will not only look through your binoculars at thedistant objects， but turn them around and look through the other end atthe tiny flowers and ferns at your feet. You’ll be amazed at the intricatepatterns， colors and shapes you’ll see. Some are functional， to attractinsects and such， but some we cannot explain other than as a proof ofthe enormous diversity of our universe.
“Don’t plod on unseeing， unaware. Be quiet and let nature cometo you. Nature has secrets， and so do you. Your own secrets may beunknown even to you. During your month together you’ll learn fromeach other as well. It can be a harmonious and expansive experience interms of human relationship just as it should be in terms of your findingyour place in the grand scheme of nature. Learn to appreciate oneanother and you’ll learn to appreciate yourself.
“You are young enough to retain a sense of wonder about theworld. Actually， we are all young enough， but sometimes we bury thissense of wonder under the care and concerns that we rather needlesslypursue. Wonder goes along with creativity and inspiration， withoutit we would have no great writers or artists and no great scientists.