Peterson Beach With What I Think Are Pitcher Thistles, a Threatened Species Native to Great Lakes Dunes “We have traveled this day / to...

If you are an American child of the 80’s like me, one of your earliest exposures to China might have been the Sesame Street Special, “Big...

This summer, I spent some time in the U.S. getting to visit lots of family and friends.  I spent time in Michigan and went out on a East...

Spring is a brief, but lovely, season in Beijing.  Last Sunday afternoon, I was in the general vicinity of Zhongshan Park, which is...

My Chinese class just finished reading an essay about emperor Kangxi, one of China’s greatest emperors.  Somehow in our discussion,...

Spring comes quickly in Beijing, and quickly proceeds to summer.  We hit the upper 80s already at the end of April, as we usually do....

This past weekend was a 3-day holiday in China, for the traditional Tomb Sweeping holiday.  I decided to do something that I would find...

Shortly after I arrived in China, I visited Yuanmingyuan (The Old Summer Palace) for the first time.  That was in October, and I could...

Spring has arrived in Beijing!  Actually, we had a day or two this past week that felt like summer was about to arrive (but most people...

Last winter, I saw snow on the ground ONCE, and it wasn’t very much snow.  Winter was cold and dry.  After surviving the previous winter,...

After our beautiful day in Jiuzhaigou, we took a 9+ hour bus ride south, through the area where the epicenter of the 2008 earthquake was,...

This week I fulfilled a 9-year old dream: to visit Jiuzhaigou National Park in Sichuan Province, China.  I’ve been hearing about this...

On Saturday, I went on a group hike to a section of the un-restored Great Wall.  This section is far off the tourist path and some work...

Sometimes I like to take my camera out and take a saunter around my neighborhood, stopping to photograph whatever seems interesting. ...

“All it takes is the decision to walk with some awareness, both of who you are and what you are doing” (An Altar in the World, Barbara...

I finally took my camera out today, after having been in Beijing for a week.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I could...

Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like...