Professor Mengyu Li Poem

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IMG_8993September 30, 2015

By professor Li Mengyu, of Ocean University, Qingdao, China, a friend and intercultural colleague

To Don and Ellen

You come from a far, far-away place,
Maybe we will never see again,
After we say goodbye today.
But you seem to be my life-long friends,
Though we stay together for hours.

Your keen interests towards life,
Like never-ending waves of the sea,
Your sweet smile and laughter,
Like the shiny sunshine in the water,
The wonderful lecture you have given,
the meaningful games we played,
All will bring us a golden memory,
And build up a lasting friendship,
beyond the confines of the space.

Beijing Manners

 

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Polite here / rude there; polite there / rude here, is the basic way of culture. Overcoming the need for the ‘ways my mom taught me’ to be proper for all, is a tough one. And there is also the issue of public / private manners, or in which situations do ‘good manners’ apply, however ‘good manners’ are interpreted. Prior to arriving in Beijing, we braced ourselves for spitting, staring, jostling, butting in, and cars to clip our toes in crosswalks; have seen all that. But we didn’t expect the number of people we have seen who have given up their seats to others on trains and buses, who smile before we do, who let us play with their babies, and offer help when we are lost in a train station or pouring over our map on the street.

Our queries of strangers are occasionally met with slightly horrified expressions, but more often with helpfulness. As our Chinese language can be rated as pre-infantile, we are immensely appreciative of any direction, even if slightly off course. Hotel / hostel staff may first appear aloof, but typically  warm up quickly to greetings, thank you’s, and apologies in Mandarin, important early key words. The learning continues.

Toilets in Japan

September 16, 2015 It has been 25 years since we last visited Japan, and 31 years since we lived and worked in this lovely land.  So it has been wonderful to spend time with old friends and see what has changed and what has not. What has not changed is the beauty and graciousness of […]

China Beckons

Visas China 2

September 4, 2015

Ellen and Don are off to China!  We fly first to Tokyo on September 9th, 2015. After a week with dear friends, we continue on to Beijing, where our journey in China begins. We plan to zigzag east and west but mostly southward, flying back to Calgary from Hong Kong on December 9th. Our goal is to remember what it is like to be in a new land, meeting good people, and gaining a few insights into the enormous country that is China.

We have colleagues in Calgary who will help to provide services to our clients while we are on this professional development adventure. We will check /respond to email regularly (though not daily).

We hope to update the blog once a week (or so), so if you are curious, feel free to check back.