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  • The Joy of Fitting In

    The Joy of Fitting In

    (A note about terminology: In China, people from other countries are referred to as “外国人,” “foreigners.” In English, people like me are comfortable calling ourselves “foreigners.” However, I would never use the English term to… Read more

  • Hanging with my Humans

    Hanging with my Humans

    After growing up in church and then finishing Bible college, I went on to complete a second degree at a public university. That’s when I started hanging out with “tax collectors and sinners.” A few… Read more

  • Building Bridges

    Building Bridges

    In the novel Our Missing Hearts, Celeste Ng imagines an American society that labels China “our greatest long-term threat,” pulverizes Asian language books into toilet paper, and ostracizes people with Asian connections. After being locked in China… Read more

  • Freedom to Be

    Freedom to Be

    I love my home country, but having been influenced by Chinese culture while viewing my own through the eyes of others, certain aspects of American culture make me uncomfortable. Even small and simple ones. On… Read more

  • Losing Face

    Losing Face

    Before he retired, a dean at my university in China used to warn incoming freshmen, “To learn a foreign language is to lose face.” His intent was to inspire new students to persevere in spite… Read more

  • Kindred Spirits

    Kindred Spirits

    As I headed for China in the pre-digital days of the 1990s, one of my greatest fears was that I would not have enough to read. Books, words, and learning had been protagonists in my… Read more

  • Bundled up in Belonging

    Bundled up in Belonging

    When I first moved to China in the 1990s and began teaching at a university in my Chinese home, I obviously did not belong. In my appearance, language, behavior, and worldview, I was a 外国人ℹ️… Read more

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