Since I came to live in Canada four years ago, I have become increasingly aware that the Canadian mainstream culture is descended from that of the United Kingdom, and this awareness draws me towards my first touring destination — the United Kingdom. The British atmosphere in Canada is phenomenal. Canadian soldiers routinely perform the Changing [...]
More»When I landed at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on January 3, 1988, I realized that for several years during my graduate studies in the Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, I would have to live in a culture which is different from my own of Mainland China. Just like a plant that needs nutrition [...]
More»Baba and Mama accompanied me to Beijing, where we proceeded to go to the best stores in China. They bought me a silk shirt, a Western-style wool jacket, a pair of wool lined boots, a silver, down-filled winter coat that had a spacesuit look, and more. Then I had my hair permed. Now in dark [...]
More»Under a blazing sun, I walk on grey sand by the Atlantic Ocean, in bare feet and half naked, with a blue surfboard under one arm. This is the second to last day of my one-week surf-apprentice trip. But I’ve stood up on the board only twice. I look at my bloody right foot, where [...]
More»