A YEAR IN REVIEW- 2015

The pope came to Philly.

The Ganges River, India- July

New Zealand- Feb.

Snorkeling at the Great Barrier reef- Australia

CA sea lions

Cirque du Soleil- Las Vegas, June 2015

The Divine Miss M in Philly- June 2015


RIP
Rick Chamberlain
Joe Santoto
Charlene Frable

I Don't Have A Nose

I DON’T HAVE A NOSE

Henan Province, China

November 2015

As we walk through the store, she complains a little bit.  “I really want a pair of sunglasses but I can’t wear them.”

Why?”

“Because I don’t have a nose, “she tells me.

“What? Yes you do,” I tell her, baffled by her comment.

“No, look, I don’t have a nose,” she insists.

She is touching her nose so I can’t see why she thinks that.  Bit when she removes her hand, I see that she is talking  about.  She doesn’t have a bridge to her nose. It’s flat from her eyes to the near end of the tip of her nose.  I never noticed that before.

“A lot of Chinese people don’t have noses.  But you have a big nose”, she tells me, “so it must not be a problem for you.”

To read more stories, check out:   bkmemoirs.blogspot.com

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Barely Tolerating Them

Barely Tolerating Them

The Aboriginals

Darwin, Australia

February 2015

I wanted to go to Australia to visit with the Aboriginals.  I have always been intrigued with them, their music and their culture. When my mother visited Australia 20 years ago, she painted with some oft artists and talked about how unusual they were.  So I purposely made my way to Darwin where I knew there  would be a large population.

And I did find them.  They sat all day, in groups, on the streets, talking only to each other.

I stopped in a local restaurant and asked the waitress if she knew of a place where I could go and learn more about them.

"What's to learn.  All they do is drink and get drunk and lay on the street," she responded with a tone of disgust. "Don't go near them," she added.

To read more stories, check out:   bkmemoirs.blogspot.com

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Her Family Will be Full of Happiness

Her Family Will be Full of Happiness

Sias University

Henan Province, China

November 2015

I was teaching a leadership course for young women in China. We were talking about the 8 UN Millennium Goals. When I asked my students, which goal was most important to them, Belle said the goal to provide universal education was most important. 

 I asked "Why?"

"I think education is very important, especially for girls.  First, if a girl become a mother, she was accepted education, she will teach her baby better. Second, women will become a leader, she can help more female. Finally, in a family, there is a wisdom housewife. Her family will be full of happiness."

To read more stories, check out:   bkmemoirs.blogspot.com

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They Sit With Gratitude- China

SIAS International University
Henan Province, China
World Academy for the Future of Women
November 2015

This night there were 60 students in my class.  The next night, there were 74 students. They sit through 8 hours of instruction from me every week and they believe every word I say. They are grateful for this opportunity to be exposed to a foreign teacher and so they sit with gratitude and anticipation.

Cutting A Log-Haiti

     

Cutting  A Log

Haiti

July 2013

When I walked up to these men, I couldn't believe what I was watching. They were taking a large, large fallen tree and cutting it in to planks of wood by hand. The work was tedious, hard and tiresome. They were drenched in sweat. The bugs were biting and they had hours to go before they were finished. My request for them to pose for me was a welcomed relief and just a quick break from the difficult task at hand.

Images of China- 2015

Images of China

Henan Province

November 2015

I just returned from my fourth trip to China.  I spent the last month there in Henan Province which is south of Beijing. I taught at Sias International University which is situated in a dense, rural community. Many people make their living by selling a few things a day on the streets. I liked to roam the streets by myself and just chat with some of the vendors.  We didn't understand each other but that was insignificant to the moment.

World Academy for the Future of Women

World Academy for the Future of Women

Sias International University

November 2015

I am back at this university to teach again in the WAFW.  I was here 3 years ago and the program has grown substanially.  I have 100 students in the first year group, 30 males in the Men's Academy for the Future of Women and 40 students in the Advanced Academy of WAFW.  That means at any one time, I may have 50-60 students in my two hour evening class. So far, no one has fallen asleep which I will view as a measurement of some success.

Doing the Laundry- India

Laundry Day
Varanasia, India
Ganges River
July 2015


I am staying at a hotel right along the banks of the Ganges River.  I am told I can have clean sheets every day but I tell the hotel manager that won't be necessary.  I know how scarce clean water is in India.

"It will be no problem, Madame," he tells me.

Later that afternoon, I walk along the river and see why it will be no problem.  The sheets are washed in that dirty water and then left to dry on the filthy steps.  That confirmed my decision: I'm not asking for any clean sheets.  I don want any residue of that dirty water touching my skin.

To read more stories, check out:   bkmemoirs.blogspot.com

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Sias International University

SIAS International University

Henan Province, china

Spring 2012

November 2015

Founded in 1998, Sias International University in Henan Provence, China attempt to merge western creativity with eastern work ethics.  Every student, for which there are 24,000, must take English classes which are taught primarily by Evangelical Christians who come here to fulfill a missionary obligation with their American christian university.  Because their professional labor is so cheap, university look the other way as long as the preaching remains discrete.

The campus building were designed to resemble monuments and architectural styles from around the world.  The end result of this effort is a campus that is being to look a lot like Vegas.  There is Italian Square and German Street and Spanish Square.  The new library looks like a Mayan Temple and the Administration Building looks a lot like Monticello.

There are grand water fountains that spit out so much water that the dorms frequently lose access to water for the rest of the afternoon whenever the fountains are on.

The students love this campus.  They speak of its beauty with pride that is genuine. However, there is no regard to the problems of litter as trash is everywhere, particularly in the classrooms.

To read more stories, check out:   bkmemoirs.blogspot.com

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Uncle Sam (Chen) Wants You

This is a soda machine in China.  As is so common here, the image of America is used to entice consumers.  If you drink this soda, you are just like an American.  Uncle Sam wants you to over- consume, just like us.

WINTER 2015

The first day of winter always fills me with dread.  Three long, slow, laborious, dark, dismal, slippery, bone-chilling, cold months of winter are ahead of me. The summer always seems to fly by for me.  One day, it is warm and my flip-flops come out and I'm whistling all the time and then all of the sudden, with the blink of the eye, the nights are crisp and the days are shorter.  Where did the summer go?.  But the winter always lingers beyond all acceptable terms of tolerance. Here are some photos from last winter.