I was in the Los Angeles area last week for meetings. During our Friday afternoon lunch break, we walked to nearby restaurant called Spitz. Along the way I spotted what I thought was a quintessential California scene. An oversized apartment building in faux-Spanish architecture. Palm trees. A 1960s VW Beetle. But wait….what’s with that chain? The […]
9/11 Boatlift
It was late at night on September 11 in Beijing when my mom called me from the U.S. to tell me about the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Internet was super slow back then and the local Chinese stations were not yet covering anything. I ran next door and woke up my teammate, […]
A Rocky Mountain Fourth
One of the traditions at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park Colorado is a Fourth of July Parade. Participants in the parade are campers, visitors, and various staff departments of the Camp and Conference Center. I absolutely love this slice of American life — people organizing themselves to dress up in silly costumes […]
A Norwegian Church in South Dakota
On our meandering trip across the prairie to Colorado over the past few days, we made a stop in Rapid City, South Dakota to see the Stavkirke Chapel in the Hills, a traditional Norwegian church. Here’s how it is described on the website: Nestled at the foot of the Black Hills, on the western edge […]
Independence Day Viewing
Today is Independence Day in the United States, sometimes known simply as “The Fourth of July,” or simply “The Fourth.” With apologies to my British readers (not really), it is the day we commemorate telling the King of England to “scram!” Or, as the Chinese might say, “Liberation!” I know that most July Fourth activities […]
A Chinatown Grows in Brooklyn
The New York Times recently published a fascinating article about the influx of Chinese immigrants into Brooklyn and the growth of new “Chinatown” enclaves all over the borough. It’s a wonderful depiction of the ebb and flow of immigrant communities in the city: Just before 5 p.m., wave after wave of smiling toddlers came bounding down […]
