I’m back in Minnesota now after a great three weeks in China, but a part of me wishes I were still in Beijing for this weekend’s World Curling Championships! The Wall Street Journal Reports: “China is warming up for its bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics with an event of almost equal stature: the…
Month: March 2014
Are Most Chinese Really Atheists?
It’s an interesting question, and, as the saying goes, “it depends on what the meaning of the word ‘Atheist’ is.” Earlier this month Pew released the results of survey that tried to determine people’s beliefs about the relationship between believing in God and morality. According to their results, 75% of respondents in China said that…
Shanghai Sidewalk Cafe
What happens when you find yourself with 20 American university students in a pricey Shanghai office tower and in need of a quick and cheap meal before heading to the next appointment? Find a Muslim noodle shop and persuade them to set up tables and stools on the sidewalk and serve us delicious plates of…
Sit More Lightly
I’m back in China for three weeks, traveling with a group of university students from Minnesota. They arrived yesterday, and now we are safely ensconced in what I would describe as a 2.5-star hotel; not quite nice enough to be a 3-star, yet not quite dumpy enough to be a 2 star. It calls itself…
A Musical Send-off
In the baggage claim area of the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport (MSP) there sits an (out of tune) piano, literally begging someone to sit down and play it. When my mom and sister took me to the airport on Monday for my flight to China, my mom announced that she wanted to sit down and play…