Journey of a Mooncake (Mooncake)
Inspiration Words: Fortnight and Contemplate I have been made for a high and noble purpose. I am one of the special foods in China, and I have the wonderful task of bringing joy to many people during the Mid-Autumn Festival as they enjoy eating me and admiring the...
A New Path (Tan Shuwen)
Inspiration Words: Notion and Reach The family stood again, and Tan Shuwen (tahn shoo wuhn) smiled at the other members of her family. This time it was her father giving the toast. Shuwen knew he was proud of her and her score on the gaokao (gow kow—the Chinese...
Boys Will Be Boys (Guoliang)
Inspiration Words: Green and Skip Guoliang (gwoh lee-ahng) opened his door as carefully as possible; then he crept down the hallway so he could hear his dad and grandpa talking in the living room. He didn’t think about what would happen if one of them walked toward...
No Pain No Gains (Another Diary of a Language Learner) (Becky)
Inspiration Words: Trying and PotentialSeptember 6thWell, here we are, about ready to start another semester! I love the beginning of the semester. Having a long summer holiday is always fun, but going back to school with all those new books and new classes is the...
Life Meets Work (Paul)
Inspiration Words: Balloon and Perplexed Paul sat in the large, open office area at the training center. He leaned back in the chair, resting his head against the back, with his legs stretched out in front of him. Most of the lights were off, and a balloon drifted by...
Fishing (Xiao Lu)
Inspiration Words: Egg Tart and Post Xiao Lu (ssee-ow loo) licked the crumbs out of the aluminum wrapper that, moments before, had contained a tasty egg tart. Saturdays were his favorite. He said it was because each Saturday, his mom would buy him the egg snacks that...
Shopping Races (Anne and Johnson)
Inspiration Words: Yes and Sidewalk “Stop dawdling, Anne,” her mother scolded her as they walked through the aisles of the supermarket. Anne held gently to the side of the grocery cart, keeping close, like her mom preferred. “Can you get some of the chocolate chips...
Tacos and Cheese (Braxton)
Inspiration Words: Tortilla and Aspirational Braxton sat down on the hard chair in the dining room of his restaurant. It was 2 a.m., and the last of the night crowd had just left. The kitchen staff had finished cleaning up, and he had put away the rest of the drinks...
Diary of a Language Learner (Becky and Samantha)
Inspiration Words: Pandemonium and ConfusedSeptember 19th This is my first week of classes at university, and I absolutely love it! I’m so glad I came to Hainan. The skies are so blue here, and even though it’s so hot, the library has air conditioning, and that’s...
The Soundtrack of My Life (Novel)
Inspiration Words: Overhear and Acoustic My primary skill in life is overhearing things. I don’t talk much, but I listen plenty, and when I listen, I hear lots of interesting things. One of the first conversations I remember overhearing was between my parents. I was...