From Grits to Chopsticks

Like many middle-aged men, I’ve wondered what it would be like to feel the surge of power as I crank back on the twist-grip of a mighty Harley, enjoying the wind in my face and bugs in my teeth while cruising down the open highway.  Maybe someday Susan and I will get that chance (here we are in an […]

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Since our 20-week school semester doesn’t start until the end of Spring Festival, we’re just now getting around to final exams.  State-mandated procedures require all exams to be prepared in a uniform paper format and that every single answer be marked as right or wrong with a red pen.  It also requires each section to be signed, double checked, and […]

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Before Timothy left our city, we decided to ride the #10 bus to northeast corner of town and enjoy some of the local wildlife.  In this photo, you can see a typical shot of Timothy, fishing pole in hand.  But this is China, and the pier is not an ordinary fishing pier: Over the past five years, he’s pulled […]

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For most people, it would be pretty far out of the way to drop in at our place for a visit.  But not for Mark’s sister, Barbara, whose pharmaceutical consulting business takes her around the world.  After spending time working at some of China’s east coast cities, she was able to swing by our city for the […]

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On Thursday, we had the chance to hike up to Haiyuan temple.  Our small group of students and friends started the hike in typical fashion, walking down a busy street and past a massive construction project: As we started up the mountain, we stopped to peek through a hole in the door of an old […]

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We just returned from a visit to Chengdu, classified as one of China’s four “furnace cities.”  Unlike our city, they actually have air conditioning here which is a good thing, especially if you go out to dinner at one of their local “hot pot” restaurants.  Fortunately for us, we only got the “mild” version: This was […]

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When you’ve spent 50+ years in a single country, it can be very easy to focus on many of the different, dirty things in your new culture.  The pile of trash at the end of the street, the kid peeing on the sidewalk, the “stinky tofu” cooking on a roadside grill, the pollution in the air/water, the deep, gross sound of […]

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Almost every (cheap) airline connection from the US to our city requires an overnight stay on the east coast, so I flew to Shanghai and met Susan on her recent return from the States.  Since we had planned an extra day into the schedule, we decided to pay a visit to the World Expo.  It only made sense to spend the entire […]

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While we still aren’t exactly sure when the last day of school will be at our university (there’s still a month to figure that out), the end of school just arrived for our son Stephen.  After two years of study at Harvard Business School, he graduated last week with his MBA.  Fortunately, Susan was able to travel back […]

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For those of you back in the USA, it’s time to get outside and spray broadleaf week killer on those pesky dandelions.  I’ve always been amazed at how quickly they can go from a cute little ball of puffy seeds to large green intruders.  Before you know it, they can take over your entire lawn. Of course, […]

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