East Asia’s Influence On My Life
A Presidential Visit To China… East Asia has always held me in its sway and it’s influence has always run in the background of my life. I have former American President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon to thank for that. Their 1972 diplomatic visit to China renewed interest in a country most Americans…
ASSE Orientation Weekend
I dont know about anyone else, but if I were an ASSE (American Scandinavian Student Exchange) international student new to America, I’d want to go to the beach for my orientation weekend. Because, the beach! The ocean! The boardwalk! Candy Kitchen’s salt water taffy! Thrasher’s boardwalk fries! A cornucopia of East Coast beach staples that…
Kazakh
In early September, a very travel-weary young Kazakh stepped off a plane into the Philadelphia International Airport carrying that dombra I mentioned in my last post . After a 40-hour journey from the other side of the world, this 17-year-old young man was more than ready to be done with traveling. But let me give…
Kazakhstan
“Kazakhstan? Where’s that?”. I hate to admit it. I uttered these words when my son asked me to look for a Kazakh international student. Shouldn’t I already know it’s the 9th largest country in the world? With a total landmass the size of western Europe? And Asian on top of it all! How did I…
Host Family
What does it take to be a successful host family? Compassion? Patience? Maybe even a little bravery? Yes, all that and more. Since meeting Joseph from Taiwan, I’ve wanted to discover what it was like to be a host family. Our family couldn’t host an international student when we lived in Columbus, Ohio, because we…
Learning to Taiwander Again
I’m slowly learning to Taiwander again, but finding my wings and flying once more hasn’t been easy. To be honest, I didn’t think I would. Covid hit my family hard. It hit the world hard. The death, destruction, and massive upheaval it leaves in its wake is impressive in its global scope. Unfortunately, even though…
Corona Virus and The Blame Game
Fear of corona virus, COVID-19, is morphing into full blown xenophobia. Blaming people isn’t what’s going to get us out of this mess. Working together is.
New Year, New Adventure
So here we are in the year 2020. New year, new adventure. As last year unfolded and the unknown became known, it was amazing to see the direction life had taken. I was also grateful for it. Embracing Joseph into our family and our hearts (see The Influence of East Asia on my Life: The…
Vietnam’s Legacy
Vietnam’s legacy began with a draft card. It arrived in my dad’s mail box in 1967, and by 1968 he found himself in the countryside and cities of Vietnam. He was part of the US Army Corp of Engineers. Like so many young American men before him, he didn’t want to go, didn’t want to…
The Imperial Bells of China
With a mischievous grin my husband queued up LL Cool J’s Rock the Bells as we headed to the Imperial Bells of China concert. Not the same genre of music, or exactly what Mr. Cool J had in mind when he composed the song, it was still appropriate. We were about to see and hear…
One Night on a Mountain Top Near Wulai
“So this one night on a mountain top near Wulai…” is not something I thought I’d ever say, much less do. But I can, because I did. It was a night that had my inner biologist geek jumping up and down in excitement. As much as one can jump at 3am, while resting on a…