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共同完成上帝所作的一首诗

顾问罗立博士
Dr. Rob Leveillee
厦门国际学校校长
Headmaster, Xiamen International School

很多人说，这位校长长得像"圣诞老人"。目光慈祥，笑容温暖，拥抱亲切。
还有，总是让人印象深刻的白胡子。
他确实像一位从天而降的Santa Claus。作为一个职业的教育管理者，曾在三大洲留下了足迹。而到厦门不足两月，站在厦门国际学校建校5周年庆的庆典上时，他自信地说，要把这里建成国内最好的国际学校。半年之后，XIS的学生数达到了历史最高。他的员工说，这是他们历史上最有人格魅力的校长。
就在那次庆典后的两天，我们第一次深谈。他仿佛是准备着"双语"诞生而到来。

跟他的合作非常顺利。尽管，每周一次到那散发着田园风光的学校，是我每周疲惫工作的另一次远足，但当我见到那慈祥的目光，从容不迫又紧张高效的工作状态，我知道，是在跟一个怎样超强度工作的人在合作。
在那些见缝插针的时间里，他非常认真地校正着我们最后的劳动产品（这已经远远超出原来协议的范围了）。他是严肃的。在泰国、美国、新加坡，每一次出差，他都不忘排除时差，按时地矫正我发出的电子稿件，确保每次排版前，准时收到他的矫正稿。有一次，因为特殊原因，我比约定的时间晚到了三十分钟。他对秘书说，连一分钟都没办法给我了。毫不留情面的。

他更是可亲的。记不清多少次听到他由衷的关心"Yayu,you need vacation"(你需要休假)。像对待自己的孩子一样，他关注着我和团队的每一点成长--"即使你们扩成10个版，我也一样支持你们"。再也找不到比他更爱孩子的人了--他帮助"Common Talk"，最终也是为了学校的孩子们--每次我们的报纸和活动海报都会张贴在学校橱窗。

他热爱厦门。他曾说坐在外航的飞机上，一看到介绍厦门的文章，都特别高兴。同时，他又不无忧虑，"国际花园城市，为什么国外都在介绍，而国内知道的人却不多呢？"。他在北京待过很长时间，但经常感冒。后来每一次出差到北京，还是感冒。他说，只有厦门的气候，才最适合他。
这时候，他笑起来又像个孩子。

Dear YaYu & Members of the Common-Talk Staff,
What a sincere pleasure it is for me to extend to you my congratulations on this, the first "birthday" of Common-Talk. Over this past year, your many appreciative readers, myself included, have enjoyed the experience of watching the weekly feature of Common-Talk grow from an idea, into a one page series of articles and then into its current, expanded format. Thanks to your collective efforts, this past year we've been able to meet fascinating visitors (who roller-blade through Xiamen), enjoy exotic places (thanks to Leslie Kirby's description of Sri Lanka), enjoy "food experiences, ( Thanks to Bill Brown, and Terry Mueller). Thanks to the fine articles on Chinese customs, we've also come to appreciate that we do, indeed, have much "in common". In addition to the many entertaining articles that have appeared, Common Talk has also provided us with useful and important information. I was particularly appreciative of SARS related information that you provided to the community last year.
On a personal note, I clearly remember the morning that YaYu Wu, Chief Editor, visited my office to discuss with me the possibility of assisting The Xiamen Daily, with a new "English Language" section of the newspaper, designed to bring our local and expatriates readers together in spirit. On that morning we agreed that as fortunate residents of Xiamen, we had much in common and that such a new section would give us a chance to share our ideas, thoughts, and hopes. In a way, it would be a place where, in print, we could "talk" about life together, a life in common, and there it was in front of us, the name of the new section would be "Common Talk."
Once again, congratulations to the Xiamen Daily, to the staff of Common Talk and to the many contributing writers who have helped to transform an idea into an exciting and prosperous reality. Oh, and of course, "Happy Birthday!"

福建南部的第一份英文报纸双语专刊开办有一年了，对编辑们来说，这是一段繁忙而值得回忆的日子。虽然我于今年2月才加入这个集体，但跟随双语专刊经历了许多激动人心的时刻：专刊策划的英语角，英语写作比赛，英语演讲比赛，以及最近的厦门国际投洽会中的采访。所有这些经历对我而言都是弥足珍贵的，从中我了解到有如此多的厦门人热衷于学英语。吴悠云，一位退休后自学英语的老人，成为双语版的忠实读者。她说，学英语让她变得年轻了。每当我想到，双语版将呈现给十万多像吴悠云这样的订户阅读，就会很振奋。如果双语版能为他们搭成一座中西交流的桥梁，为厦门成为国际花园城市做出贡献，那就是我最大的满足。当然对编辑来说，这是一个挑战，尤其接下来的扩版，编辑部将面临人手不足的困难。但是我们将不遗余力地将最吸引人的英语新闻和信息传达给读者，并在内容和形式方面力争保持高水准。		It has been one year since Common Talk, the very first English newspaper in South Fujian was published, and it has been both a busy and memorable time since then for its editors. Although I joined Common Talk half way in this February, I have gone through many exciting moments when Common Talk shared a part: the English corners, the English writing contest, the English speech contest, and interviews at the recent CIFIT as well. All these experiences are precious to me, and through which I learn that there are so many Xiamen locals keen on English learning. Wu Youyun, an old lady who started to learn English by herself after retirement, became a faithful reader of Common Talk. She told me she felt younger by doing so. It has never failed to thrill me at the thought that our page was to be shown to over 100,000 readers like Mrs Wu. I would be overjoyed if our page could be of any help to them by setting up a communication bridge connecting Chinese and foreign people and contribute to the realization of Xiamen to be an international garden city . It surely poses a challenge to our editors of Common Talk, who still have much to learn. But we will spare no efforts in delivering to you English news and information in a most attractive package and try to maintain a high standard in our stories, in terms of both content and presentation.
团队张薇薇 Vivian
i

Thank you, Common Talk It is greatly significant for me to choose "Common Talk", for which I start my formal career in my life. Compared with my joy when I was told that Xiamen Daily Common Talk had employed me, what I realize more at present is the responsibility of Common Talk after three- month's experience. During the Reader Investigation, once readers get to know that I work for Common Talk, they would heartily offer their suggestion and express their feelings for Common Talk. A white collar, working in a foreign company for years, thinks Easy Come Never Go is too short. A mother would help her son cut and paste Cool English as a thick clip book. A sixty-five professor would read Common Talk for each edition and treasure up the article "Dad Is Aging". When I face all that, how couldn't I inspire and deeply affect? The seventh CIFIT is another experience. I hadn't done any economic report, nevertheless English economic reports. I experienced a lot as well as learned a lot after trying much and consulting much. Having gone through the unforgettable three months, what I feel most is "lucky". It is lucky for me to join an excellent team, to get to know a group of efficient and helpful colleagues and teachers. What is luckier is Common Talk has offered me a large world beyond my expectation. Maybe in future our youth will be recorded by pieces of fading newspapers. But it will be unfading memories in my deep heart for all happiness and sorrow we will experience.			团队陈少英 Jean
		选择Common Talk，于我而言，有着极其特殊的意义。因为选择了Common Talk，也就迈开了我正式求职生涯的第一步。与我得知被厦门日报录取，夜不能寐的欣喜相比，在经历三个月的磨练后，今天的我认识更多的则是Common Talk的分量与肩上的责任。读者调查的时候，一旦读者知道我是Common Talk的助理编辑，就会很热心地提出他们的建议及看法。一位在外企工作多年的白领认为"Easy Come Never Go"太短了；一位母亲，帮儿子将每期"Cool English"剪贴而成厚厚的一本剪贴本；一位65岁的老教授每期必读Common Talk，还将"Dad Is Aging"这篇文章珍藏起来……看到这一切，我们不能不感动。第七届CIFIT则是另一场考验。从未写过经济报道，更不用说英文的深度经济报道。虚心向主编请教，向Angela学习。尝试，摸索，前进。经历了很多，也学到了很多。经历了三个月的风雨，我最大的感受是"幸运"。庆幸自己加入了一支非常棒的团队，有幸结识了一批能干且乐于提携后进的同事兼老师，更为幸福的是Common Talk给我带来了一个大舞台与空间，远远超出我的想象。是啊，可能我们的青春就将由一张张发黄的报纸来记载，但这后面所负载的苦与乐，必将成为我们内心深处永不褪色的记忆。

刚刚来到双语专刊的时候，一切都有些陌生，陌生的同事，陌生的工作，陌生的环境。对工作流程不熟悉的我，甚至有些手忙脚乱。幸亏我们有一个很好的团队，热心的同事们总是耐心的帮助我，让我在这份紧张有序的工作中渐渐找到感觉，体会其中之乐。当我独立做完第一个版面的时候，尽管有些累，可是内心的那份喜悦却无法用语言来形容。第七届投洽会让刚走出校园的我和Jean经受了一次考验。每天我们周旋于各种会议、论坛中，抓住一切机会采访我们所遇见的老外，回到报社后又得继续工作，赶稿，然后是与编辑一次又一次的沟通。这次锻炼，我们获得了一些实战经验，使得我们能更快的成长起来。如今双语专刊已经走过了一个春秋，而我来此也有三个月了，对工作渐渐地熟悉起来。在工作中，我开始学会精益求精，因为我知道，会有无数双眼睛关注着双语专刊，我们要为读者提供的是一份精品，这些使我们不能有丝毫的懈怠。同时我也深知，只有不断地挑战自我，年轻的我们才能在一次又一次的考验中悄然成长。			When I came to Common Talk on the first day, everything was strange to me. As a green hand, I had to learn plenty of things from the very beginning. Fortunately, all the team members were willing to give a hand to me. With their help, I gradually find my position in the work and begin to enjoy my work. When the first page was done, the joys were beyond words even though I was tired out. During the 7th CIFIT, there was a Common Talk edition everyday, which we had never experienced before. That was a tough week for all the team members of Common Talk. We had to cover all the important symposiums and forums. We seized every chance to interview the foreigners, who attended those symposiums. We did all we could to obtain the first-hand information to ensure that everything we covered was exact and of good quality. Having been through the tough week, Jean and I, who were both newcomers, learnt a lot more practical experiences that we were not supposed to learn from the books. However, I realize that this job requires constant improvement and there is still a long way to go. After all, learning is a life-long process. There will be challenges waiting ahead. By overcoming the challenges, we are sure to grow stronger.
	团队陈玉清 Enid

How fast time flies by! It seems only yesterday that I accepted the gracious offer of working for Common Talk (CT), Indeed, as time speeds by, I've had some of my most memorable experiences working for CT, and made lifelong friends along the way. When I first arrived to Xiamen three years ago, I loved it here immediately, though there was the most urgent need for a missing necessity- a newspaper in which I, a person completely clueless of the Chinese language, could be inform of recent local events and updated on current affairs. CT's existence seemed vital. Moreover, I believed that in a world and time where evidence of globalization spreads to every neighborhood (and in our case, to every flourishing island), and yet people criticize that mutual understanding is frequently absent, something was needed to promote further interaction and cooperation. Common Talk, with its acknowledged mission of helping bridge cultures, takes this chance to make a special contribution. Together, Common Talk and I have definitely come a long way. Seven months ago, when CT's farsighted Feature Editor, Yayu, approached me with her idea and offer, I was thrilled and eager to jump into the opportunity. Na?ve, stubborn and overly confident, it didn't occur to me that this decision would mean so much more- the imminent responsibilities, pressuring deadlines, hectic schedules, unexpected challenges and vast impact it would have in the city. Common Talk's beginning was in many ways, my own birth. We were both in need of much training to develop skills needed to fulfill our mission. We were both challenged by the lifestyles, cultures and interests of the changing society. We both struggled to improve, strived to do our best and learned tremendous knowledge as we grew. There is a side of Common Talk, filled with unrevealed secrets that most readers may not be aware of. CT, for them, may be just a weekly source of information or another tool in the course of improving their English. Behind these large news pages and headlines, however, are vast numbers of undisclosed stories. To them, the names of staff and writers may merely be words in black ink, entwined between titles and columns. Yet, to me, these names come with faces, personalities and many fond reminiscences. These names are people I've developed friendships with, people I've learnt from, and people I respect tremendously. Likewise, news articles inform readers of who did what, where and when, why or how they did it, but for me, each report tells of a cherished experience and another lesson learnt. For me, Common Talk is more than just a newspaper feature, it's a second home in which colleagues, correspondents, and readers I've become friends with care and encourage me like a second family. What Common Talk represents is a crossroad, a meeting place where the trajectories and intersections are a combination of a rich and diverse mosaic of cultures, traditions and knowledge. In art, science and areas in between, it's a wealth of information and a link between our city and the world. Common Talk remains a treasure forever and I feel very privileged to have made my little mark on CT's great pages. Common Talk, Happy Birthday! Wishing you all the best for a bright and thriving future!
		团队海伦 Helen Kuo
		她来的时候，Common Talk 刚刚出版一期，手忙脚乱。一系列的问题防不胜防。有表扬的，有批评，批评的都是标点符号等排版上的错误。没有经验，对于长期搞中文出版的我们来说。海伦来了，对于这个从来没有做过媒体的大学预科生来说，"Common Talk"是个魔方。她惊诧，每期的材料是怎样组织起来的，报纸是怎么做出来的，拿到她参与的第一张报纸，她形容自己"激动无比"。对于"Common Talk"来说，海伦也像个奇迹。从小在国外生长，英文成了她的母语，黄皮肤黑眼睛的她，三年前回国学习是为了找寻那血液的根。她怎么也想不到，自己的特长能在祖国派上用场。她的主动性超出了我们原本对一个英文校对的期望。而她的刻苦和天赋也在一次次采访中表露无疑。事实上，我们能从她身上体会到中西方文化结合后的全部优点。海伦渐渐地成了Common Talk的秘密武器，活干得与人一样漂亮！惹得别部门的人老跟我们嚷嚷：你们这么"雪藏"美女太不该了！我们没法雪藏，对于一个太耀眼的人，我们能做得就是尽量让她散发光芒，然后看着她升到更高。我们从来不曾想到她会留下多久，一个18岁的女孩还正是多梦的季节；我们从来就在找能替代她的人，只可惜至今都难以找到。 "TO LEARN AS YOU WILL LIVE FOREVER, TO LIVE AS YOU WILL DIE TOMORROW"(就像能长生不老样地去学习，就像明天要死去那样地去生活) ，这是她的座右铭。我们希望她的梦能成真。对于一个有天赋又勤奋的人来说，成功并不会很遥远。（by Yayu）

她的名字叫Angela，中文里就是天使的意思。她的到来让我们中心的一位青年男编辑萌生学好英语的决心。他当着我们大家伙的面说，"我要跟美丽的人学习美丽的语言。" 她是我惟一认识的学习新闻本专业的西方人。在美丽的苏格兰干过与我们一样的本行。学同样专业的人总是有着同样的气质，格子布，白衬衫，中型的裤装，带着全球职业妇女都喜欢的杰西卡的风格，所以那天她来到办公室第一次找我时，我就认定，这是我们需要的人。而那时，她到厦门不到三个星期，她买了三个星期的"Common Talk", 然后就照着报纸的油箱给我们发EMAIL，然后我们安排见面。然后"一见钟情"，并肩作战。这就是缘分吧。(By Yayu)			Now I am an editor at the Xia Men Daily newspaper's Common Talk. I studied journalism at university in my home country, Australia. When I graduated I moved to Scotland where I worked as a journalist for the Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. I came to China about a year ago, to teach English and to experience another culture and way of life. I initially came to China just for six weeks but over 12 months later I am still here! After teaching in Jinan and Dandong I found beautiful Xia Men. I have lived in this city since February this year and love it for its clean beaches, perfect weather , friendly people and fantastic food! So much reminds me of Australia and so much is so different. I began working for Common Talk shortly after arriving in Xia Men. At first I was correcting the weekly pages and writing occasional articles. The International Trade Fair in September was a highlight and a challenge for our team at the paper. We went from publishing two pages once a week which were aimed primarily at English language learners, to writing daily pages about international economics to be read by a foreign audience. This time was a test for us to see how we could work together as a team and I am proud to say I think we were successful. We are now ready to face our next challenge of extending our section to eight pages. It is exciting to be working between two cultures and languages. I am looking forward to working closely with Common Talk and with the people of Xia Men - both foreign and local - to help build an English language paper that reflects the unique mix of cultures we have on our island.
	团队安吉拉 Angela

Common Talk Not So Common! My breakfast with an Australian businesswoman this morning reinforced just how important it is for all of us to help others better understand and appreciate Xiamen, and what an important role Common Talk will play in this. Ms. Smith [name changed] has been doing business in China for 20 years, but only during the past 3 years has she been visiting Xiamen. And she almost didn't return a second time! Alice said, "For business people, one Chinese city is the same as another. All we see if the airport, hotel, and factories." But Alice fell in love with Xiamen, thanks to a Chinese factory worker who took the time to introduce his home town to her. "Until he took me to Gulangyu," Alice said, "I had no idea Xiamen was so beautiful, or had so much to offer. And it was sheer luck that I found your book, "Amoy Magic," in the Gulangyu bookstore." Now she agrees-Xiamen is indeed magic! And Alice now plans to focus her business in Xiamen. She said, "Everyone goes to Guangzhou or Shanghai because it seems easier, but it is not. Sure, Guangzhou has lots of companies, but they all produce similar things, and because they are so wealthy and have so much business, they are hard to negotiate with. And I hate flying into Guangzhou, and navigating the sprawling city traffic. Xiamen is so much more pleasant-and just as profitable!" But Alice admits, "I would probably have not returned to Xiamen a second time if it were not for that tour to Gulangyu, and finding your book." We are all justly proud of our Garden City, but if we are to truly become an International City, we need to understand that foreign guests don't know the city like we do, and we have to work to help them appreciate what sets our city apart from others. To this end, I have just rewritten Amoy Magic (over 400 pages-double the content!), and my wife, Susan, has an English website, http://www.amoymagic.com . The city foreign affairs is also putting together an English promotional brochure so that foreigners can understand that, in fact, Chinese cities are not all alike! And how do we residents keep up with Xiamen's rapid changes? Common Talk is the key! As Common Talk improves and expands, I hope that all of us Xiamen lovers, Laowai and Laonei alike, will work together to help the rest of the world see that Xiamen is not all common!		朋友比尔博士 Dr. Bill Brown 厦门大学MBA中心教授

		他说，他等这份报纸等了14年。十四年前，他携家带口到厦门的时候，经常受到食粮的困扰--包括奶酪面包和精神产品。他就自力更生，开始了自发的坚苦卓绝的开创性工作。那本《魅力厦门》是他又喜又忧的生活作品，不得不承认，他身上有着特殊的幽默细胞，随时能从这段生活经历中遭遇的最普通的事物，甚至是消极的事物中，找到积极的可笑的一面。他的幽默具有强烈穿透力，凭借熟练运用两种语言的优势，使得不管是中国人，还是西方人，都能开怀大笑。他是乐观主义者，他的作品让读者放松和开心。但这并不代表他的真实生活。他很少说，在这里他曾身患癌症，差点不能再回国；他很少投诉，这里回馈他的跟他付出的大相径庭；他很少抱怨，为了提供帮助这个城市他日以继夜，常常失眠。他爱这块土地，爱到用毕生积蓄去走遍福建的山山水水，去撰写前人没有写过的英文游记--推广第一批样书到美国，光邮寄就花几千元人民币，那是他一个月的工资。对于很多西方思维不能理解的事，他学会了很潇洒地耸耸肩，用标准的闽南普通话说，"随谓，无所便。" 这个人是美国人，也是福建人，厦门人。他对我们说，"除非有人要把我赶走，否则我将会在这片土地一直住下去，直到长眠于斯"。他是我们最忠诚的作者，读者，顾问和朋友。至始未变。他在重版的《魅力厦门》中，特别介绍了"Common Talk", 为了照顾他的访谈，我不得不把自己并不满意的照片传给他。一想到这张折光系数不太好的照片，将要跟着他的书发行几万册，我就柔肠寸断。不得已，只能拿这本小册子"雪耻"了。（By Yayu）

我最亲爱的姐妹们现在每回有人和我提起《厦门日报》，我的脑海中就立即浮现出那些笑盈盈的面容和熟悉的名字：亚宇、璇子、薇薇、少英、玉清……昨日的欢笑历历在目，如同发生在昨天一般。亚宇的职务是我们英语刊的主编，但在我们中间她更像是个"知心姐姐"。当你有不明白的问题时，打个电话问她是最合适不过的。不管这问题有多么愚蠢，或者风马牛不相及，她总是很好的听众和明智的建议者。当你在半夜突然想到一个办报的好主意时，打电话叫醒她，她会在电话那头跟你兴奋地讨论到凌晨。要是你有什么周末的化妆舞会，千万记得叫她，有了她，舞会就会更加有趣。璇子是介绍我到英刊的人，虽然她很快就被调到中文刊，但她还经常回来看我们，提提建议。薇薇姐是我们办公室美丽的"天使姐姐"，一向微笑着轻声说话。当你和她一起外出作城市文化报道时，或许是一场时装秀，或是音乐会，她总是如此陶醉其中，以至于你会想："她是不是把采访的事给忘啦？"绝对不会的！突然间她打个响指，"有了！"回家就只剩打字的活了。神奇吧？！少英和玉清和我差不多大，我们经常一起讲笑话，做游戏，大嚷大叫，笑得喘不过气来，然后说："受不了你了！"但是工作的时候，她们俩就跟换了个人似的：加班，忘了晚餐和约会，饿得发昏，筋疲力尽……直到一切搞定。还有那些可爱的地方：报社二楼的小小办公室，我眼睛蒙着手帕也能找到；离大楼不远胡同深处小树丛后的"小火车"餐厅，那时我们第一次聚餐的地点…… 我在厦门日报英语刊的时间只有2003年夏天短短的三个月时间，但我和我的伙伴们一起经历和分享了这么多美好的记忆，以至于有时我觉得我们是从小一块儿长大的姐妹们。现在，我离开她们自己一人回北京继续我的研究生学习，开始找工作，但我时常回想起她们，想他们现在会在做什么。我们已经约好明年春节的聚会，我开始有点等不及了！		My Dearest Sisters Nowadays when people mention Xiamen Daily to me, all the smiling faces and familiar names: Yayu, Xuanzi, Vivian, Shaoying, Yuqing…. resurface in my mind, bringing all the happy days memories back alive, as fresh as if it only happened yesterday. Yayu, "officially" the chief editor of Common Talk, always acts like a Big Sister. Whenever you have questions for her, she is just a phone call away. No matter how silly the question may be, and no matter what it is about, interview skills or love, she is always the right person to ask, who is a devoted listener and a wise advisor. When you conceive a good idea for our newspaper in midnight, wake her up by the ringing, and she will be as excited as you on the other side of the phone to discuss it. And if you have something like a Friday night costume party, ask her to come along, and you will definitely have much more fun. Xuanzi is the person who introduced me to Common Talk. She was soon transferred to the Chinese issue, but she came back often and gave us useful suggestions. Then comes Vivian, oh, our beautiful angel, she is always so tender and sweet. When you do interviews with her on the city cultural activities, such as a fashion show or a concert, she seems enjoy the performance so much and totally lost herself in it. Does she forget about her job? NO, of course not. Suddenly she would snap her fingers and said: "That's it!" Now just the typing thing left. Amazing, isn't it? Honestly speaking, I learn a lot from them and owe them my sincerest thanks. Shaoying, Yuqing and I are about the same ages, we talked about jokes, played games, shouted and laughed together, screaming: "I can't bear it!" But when it comes to work, business is business: overtime work, starved and exhausted, forgetting dinners and dates…till everything finished. Also those pretty places: our tiny office on the second floor of the News Agency, I could easily find it even when blinded with a handkerchief; the "Little Train" restaurant, hiding at the end of the alley and behind the trees, not far from our building, where we had the first get-together dinner…I only spent three months in the summer of 2003 as an intern in the Common Talk issue, but we experienced and shared so many things that I feel we are dearest sisters who grew up together in a big family. Now I am alone in Beijing, doing my graduate thesis and job-hunting, I miss them often, wondering what they are doing right at this moment. We have already scheduled our next get-together in the coming Spring Festival, and I can't wait to be there!

朋友杨琳北京外交学院2001级研究生

朋友
苏大卫博士 David
原美国大学数学系教授
现为上海美国国际学校教师

Big changes in my life: not too long ago, I was issued my formal papers, sanctioning my stay here in Shanghai, marking a start to another important chapter in my life. After nearly a 30-year tenure within the U.S. professoriate, I was presented a choice that contained an arguably stronger personal component than a professional one, namely, to take up residence in Shanghai and teach mathematics at ShanghaiAmericanSchool. While this decision involved some pretty hefty issues, not the least of which required my taking (an early) retirement and relocating at a point nearly antipodal to my former residence (Kansas, U.S.A.), my long-standing courtship with China, its inhabitants, and, of course, the Xiamen Daily, made the choice nearly a “no brainer.”
Seems as if we have a real relationship developing here. Maybe it's a bit of “yuan fen” (缘分) being played out, who knows? At any rate, being able to continue my relationship with the Common Talk section of the Xiamen Daily (厦门日报) provides me with a unique opportunity to share that which gets refracted through my “reality prism.” It is my hope that that resulting distortion might very well elevate our respective powers of imagination, thereby making this exercise a bit more interesting for all.
A wishful start to a bit of whimsy. (Or is it the other way around?)