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Like cool water for a weary soul is good news from a distant land.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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
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