(This piece won the Second-Place award in 2007 Jack London Writers Contest/Nonfiction of California Writers Club, my very first, therefore very special, American writing award.) I love living in beautiful America for so many reasons. I can drink water directly out of the water faucet whenever I’m thirsty. Oh, that crystal clear water. I don’t
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About Mental Math for Young American Kids
1966, I was looking forward to my fourth-grade year when the Chinese Communist dictator Mao launched his atrocious Cultural Revolution — Schools were shut down, books burned, teachers beaten, tortured, and many were murdered. The mental math skills I learned before age ten was sufficient enough decades later for me to survive as a new
Read MoreFrom English “Hello” to Chinese“Old”
It’s fun to compare my two languages: Chinese I was born into, and English I learned artificially when I was a teenager from my native Chinese teachers. I found that English tends to be more straight forward and more efficient than Chinese. For example, Chinese has various ways for the simple little English one-word everyday
Read MoreWhat a Set of Good Counting Skills Can Do for You
Fresh off the boat from China, I finally made my way into mainstream American society as a California credentialed public-school teacher with a master’s degree in education. One day, a group of us went classroom shopping at the school supplies store on Fillmore Street. We were all newly hired teachers at 21st Century Elementary School
Read Moremagical baking soda
Magical Baking Soda Every time I look in the mirror, I smile a broad, hearty smile. And I’ve been smiling like this ever since the mandated Shelter in Place on March 17, 2020. Something good has again come out of this Covid-19 disaster. I’ve found a magic cure to stop my hair from thinning.
Read MoreOne good thing that came out the Wuhan virus aka COVID-19
“Yes!” I cheered quietly to myself, noticing both windows were open, coming into the gym room at Presidio YMCA. What a beautiful sight. It was hard to believe. Thank you to whoever let the fresh air in. From across the warehouse sized gym room, I could already feel the cool breeze coming through
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