Last year, I got to teach a cross-cultural communication class for the first time. This has been one of my favorite classes to teach. We had a team of teachers teaching the class for different students, but last semester was the first time the class was compulsory, so...
Every year in November or December, the university where I teach has a culture festival. International students from all over the world set up booths and sell food that they make to other students and teachers in the university. The fall is usually sunny with blue...
On most Wednesdays, I have lunch with a delightful group of people including my friend from America, a colleague from China, her friend who is now my friend from China, and our other colleague from Indonesia. With so many languages and cultures, we tend to have some...
A month or two ago, I heard about a Chinese speech competition. Sure, why not, I can join that! I thought to myself. I signed up by adding someone’s WeChat and learned that I had a month or two to prepare and write the speech which I would then film and submit online....
I didn’t have any plans for this evening, so after I climbed Baiyun mountain and enjoyed some time thinking and praying and looking at green things, I went to the cafeteria for dumplings. I love the dumpling shop here on campus because you don’t have to choose just...
Today, one of my students came up to the front of the classroom before class started and just wanted to chat. We ended up talking for almost the entirety of the twenty-minute break between the classes, and I really enjoyed the conversation. Part way into the...
Everyone has different ways of learning languages. One of my favorite ways to learn Chinese is to read books. Several years ago, someone gave me a Chinese book, and I started reading it, but I had a hard time getting into it and every time I picked it up, it had been...