April 18, 2011 | Washington

IN AN ODD coincidence, the travel issue of The New Yorker arrived a few days before my departure. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the issue, but right now I am reading a fascinating piece by Evan Osnos, who booked himself on a “Classic European” guided tour with a busload of Chinese.

Among the pieces of advice the tourists were given was this gem:

He who can bear hardship should carry on.

Ancient Confucius bit of wisdom? Hardly: It’s just the tour company’s advice to carry their luggage on the airplane, if they can, instead of checking it in.

I think, though, that I’ll make that my mantra for this trip:

I can bear hardship; therefore I shall carry on!