Qing Wendy

“Chinese Food is Love” Steamed buns (Bao zi)             “Food is love.”   This expression exists in most cultures and I have discovered that Chinese culture is no exception.   For the last month I have been teaching writing for professional purposes to third year students at Jiaotong University.    They are all English minors and with majors in various sciences or social sciences.   This past week we discussed “comparison and contrast” essays.   I gave them three different prompts.   They could compare the major they chose with the major they almost chose, the pluses and minuses of meeting a new romantic partner on-line or in person, or finally, compare a very focused feature of Chinese culture with American culture.   Comparing and contrasting American and Chinese food turned out to be a favorite topic.   Three interesting themes emerged in their papers: sharing is paramount in Chinese food cultur...

For the executive director of online operations at Sam Houston State University in Texas, the coronavirus threat has meant dusting off their "academic continuity plan" from Hurricane Harvey in 2017.                       (“Six Ways Universities are Responding to Coronavirus,     NPR, 3/6/20 ) Ahh yes!   The old “Academic Continuity Plans” from my days as an administrator.   For the uninitiated, “Academic Continuity Plans” (ACPs) are plans written in a vacuum, about problems that are abstract, for an audience that is completely undefined.   They might address hurricane disruptions or terrorist threats.   They also address viral outbreaks.   I remember sitting in a meeting in Florida, as one of the administrators proudly announced that she, following her ACP, had recently purchased 100 respirators for when Bird Flu become more lethal. ...

               Let’s say you have a neighbor.   You’ve known him for years.   He is very hardworking, conscientious, thrifty and talented.   In fact, he’s made most of the stuff in your house, including your favorite cell phone.   You don’t see eye to eye on politics.   You think he is a bit too authoritarian with his kids, but you have to admit that they are always well-behaved, greet you with smiles and offer to help take in your groceries if they see you have a big load.                He has a pretty thick accent and you don’t always understand what he says.   He seems to love America though.   He always wears a New York Yankees baseball cap and has a shirt   with funny sayings written in a kind of broken English.   He owns a Ford and a Chevy.   His kids love Disney and you can hear “It’s...