China
-
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 my latest visit to my… Continue reading
-
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 of the inevitable humiliation they… Continue reading
-
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 story up to that point,… Continue reading
-
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 which could literally be translated… Continue reading
-
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 fried chicken joint, but in… Continue reading
-
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 left the United States and… Continue reading
Water for the Weary 