Re-entry is hard, in many ways even harder than living overseas. In re-entry, you are trying to sort out a massive change in identity,...

“Let Love clasp Grief lest both be drown’d” –“In Memoriam A.H.H.” stanza 1, Lord Alfred Tennyson Love clasping grief as I said goodbye to...

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...

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday.  I love the memories from when I was young and all my aunts, uncles, and cousins gathered...

One of my favorite memories from the time I was in the U.S. this fall was teaching several groups of people to make Chinese dumplings....

My first project after returning to China was finding a new apartment.  The landlord of my previous apartment sold it, so I couldn’t...

This winter, instead of taking a vacation some place warm and sunny, I took a trip to Michigan.  Even though January is arguably one of...

I currently have a six-month visa that can’t be renewed in Beijing.  In order to get a new one, I had to take a trip to Hong Kong.  Since...

After the days we spent exploring the breathtaking Jiuzhaigou and admiring the pandas’ cuteness, we spent our last day relaxing in the...

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...

I ate chicken feet (okay, a chicken foot) in my own apartment.  Chicken feet are on my list of things I’d rather not eat because of their...

Happy New Year, everyone!  The traditional Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, and today is the first day of the New Year.  (Note:...

Sunday I took a quick trip to the Temple of Heaven with some church friends who were passing through Beijing.  The Temple of Heaven is...

I was talking to a friend and apologized for the grief that my decision to go overseas is causing everyone. She said, “grief is a strong...

Goodbye. It has such finality.  There’s so much longing and sadness.  And yet, it is inevitable.  We all say goodbye to people and places...