It's now the Year of the Horse, 2014-early 2015. I'd planned to write a blog about my experiences of Chinese New Year ("Spring Festival") while in China, but it's a little late for that now. Instead, I'll write a bit about money, that peculiar man-made thing that supposedly "makes the world go round." Incidentally, people [...]
Teresa Teng, Deng Lijun, 邓丽君 When I arrived in Harbin, China in 2004 to teach English, I wanted to learn at least a little Mandarin. Since music helps me a lot with other languages, I asked my friend Liyi for help. "Who can I listen to who sings Mandarin clearly and also [...]
Welcome to a Mini-City of Ice! The result of much expertise and industriousness, Harbin's International Ice and Snow Festival (Hā'ěrbīn Guójì Bīngxuě Jié), has got to be the most exciting winter celebration on earth! And it' s the perfect place--in Northern China, not far from Russia, with winds blowing in from Siberia. Yup, Harbin's a cold place in [...]
To my present and future friends the world over Xīn Nián Kuài Lè (新年快乐), Happy New Year! May 2014 be a year of many blessings for you all, and may the dreams of your heart come true! "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the [...]
"It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you . . . yes, it is Christmas every time you smile at your brother and offer him your hand." Mother Teresa Always Winter but Never Christmas? It may have seemed that way. Icy winds blew from the Gobi Desert, snow covered the ground [...]
Building a Bridge of the Heart is dedicated to the fostering of understanding and friendship between China and what I have loosely called "the West," what some call "First World." I share some of my personal stories, photos, wishes and dreams. In addition, I share cultural riches of China that speak to my heart--music, poetry, [...]
Photo by Steve Jurvetson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/6976736114) “The light that shone off her eyes was a place I could have stayed forever. In that moment we weren't our American selves. We weren't our Chinese selves. We were just mortals sitting together in that light that keeps us here. I want to dwell in that light [...]
When I was a teenager, I thought it was cool to be able to say "I love you" in other languages. Did knowing how to express that sentiment multi-lingually ever appeal to you too? As a high school English teacher in Canada, then as a college and university teacher in China, my students and I had [...]
Music plays a central role in my story—songs I was introduced to in China that helped me in my healing journey. Some of the songs were popular at their respective times; some of the other Chinese music features traditional Chinese instruments and folk melodies. Some Western songs, too, played their part in my healing, classics [...]
