• Springboard to Eternity

    Springboard to Eternity

    Obstacles on our journey are often viewed negatively as signposts warning us away from a particular path or barriers placed by the enemy to hinder progress. Obstacles do get in the way, of course. But… 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

  • Sheltered in the Heart of China

    Sheltered in the Heart of China

    In local lore, China is shaped like a chicken, its head formed by the northeastern provinces and its tail the westernmost. To an American, the word “chicken” conjures ideas like “cowardly” or perhaps a favorite… Read more

  • About Water for the Weary

    About Water for the Weary

    Hi and welcome to Water for the Weary. I’ve spent most of my adult life living and working outside my home country, primarily in an out-of-the-way and economically depressed region of China. When I first… Read more