Sixteen years ago I watched the inauguration of President George W. Bush on an old TV in a hotel room on a beach in Thailand. The next morning, my mom called to tell me that my father had suffered a sudden heart attack and died. Within 24 hours I was on a plane bound for […]
Friday Photo: Xishiku Catholic Church
This is one of the churches that I write about in my book The Bells Are Not Silent: Stories of Church Bells in China. The Xishiku Catholic Church was founded in 1703 and was originally christened The Church of Our Savior. My fellow bell-hunters and I somehow convinced the priest to let his assistant take […]
The Great Wall by Drone
When I lived in Beijing, one of my favorite things to do was go to take visitors to the Great Wall in the mountains outside of the city. There are a few designated Great Wall tourist sites, but I also enjoyed exploring some of the unrestored and undeveloped sites as well. But I never did […]
A Look at Chinese Students
The good folks at the Center on Religion and Chinese Society at Purdue University recently published the results of a survey they conducted among Chinese university students. Here is part of their introductory description: In this general report, we profile the social characteristics of Chinese students, summarize the key findings of their social, cultural, and […]
Thanks, Teacher Zhou
In 2011 I wrote a post about Zhou Youguang, the father of the Pinyin writing system. The post was titled “Imagine Learning Chinese Without Pinyin.” Here’s what I wrote about him: For those of you who are studying or have studied Chinese (in China at least), were it not for this man, Zhouo Youguang, you […]
Friday Photo: Cape Spear
This was taken last August on our road trip to Newfoundland. It is the lighthouse at Cape Spear, the easternmost point of of North America. I love that I caught the beacon! Related Posts: Road Trip: Back to Newfoundland Halfway to Ireland A Pittman Drinking Song
