From Grits to Chopsticks

As we mentioned earlier, we were privileged to have our niece Amy visit with us a few weeks ago.  We took hundreds of photos – here is a sample of some things we saw together:

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Last week, our International Trade department graduated 280 students.  I’ve had the opportunity to teach about one third of them, and it was my privilege to join other members of our faculty and present diplomas.  The last time that I wore a cap and gown was 10 years before most of these students were born, and the […]

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Last week, we had a new record crowd at English Corner: 19 students and 5 foreigners:

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During a recent visit to a UNESCO world heritage site in our province, we came across some interesting signs.  Just in case you are tempted to somk, here’s a warning: In the park, they have convenient cans available for disposal of organisms: Finally, it’s too bad that signs can’t read:

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Last week, we accepted the gracious invitation of a dear friend to come and visit him in the nearby city of Dali.  This gave us (and our niece Amy) our first opportunity to ride a Chinese train.  As you can tell from the large billboard in the train station, Dali is a popular destination: We joined the mob exiting […]

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Susan just returned from a brief trip to the States.  She was able to enjoy time together with her mom, daughter, and grandson: At three months, the little guy is blimping out nicely: While in Columbia, Elijah also met his Uncle Stephen for the first time: Our niece, Amy, was able to accompany Susan on the […]

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This evening while waiting for a greasy chicken sandwich at our local fast food joint, I was reminded again of how things in China are quite different than in America.  In this case, it had to do with the “seasonal” decorating scheme (in May): Even though we’ve been here for over a year, many things still grab […]

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During last week’s English Corner, we talked about birthday traditions in America and China.  We’re often amazed at the differences in the two cultures.  A question as simple as “When is your birthday?” can elicit an unexpected complication, in this case, the fact that many of our students keep track of their lunar birthdates instead of their Gregorian […]

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Every Sunday morning, we look forward to attending the international fellowship in our city.  The trip takes over an hour, starting with a ride on a city bus and then a walk through town.  Even on Sunday morning, the downtown traffic can get pretty heavy due to subway construction on the Beijing Road, as you can see in this […]

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Somewhere in the distant past, I seem to remember the bliss of climbing into my car, pulling out of the garage, and driving wherever I wanted.  It was one of those things that we really didn’t appreciate at the time.  But now when we want to go somewhere, it can be a pretty significant task, especially if […]

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