In December 1967, we were back in California on home leave from La Paz, Bolivia. We stayed with Ruth, Dick’s older sister and family. Ruth and I went shopping every week because I was busy buying shoes, clothes and other supplies to take to our new post, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. One of the most beautiful items I bought was a silver punch bowl, with 12 cups. I could imagine the delicious lunches I would prepare and serve my guests champagne punch, or use the bowl for “walnut tea”, one of the most famous Chinese deserts.

One morning while we were having breakfast the doorbell rang and there was a telegram for my husband, Richard. It was from Lyndon B. Johnson ordering him to Vietnam instead. Wives and children were not allowed to go. We could, however, choose to live in the United States, Hawaii, Bangkok, Manila or Taipei. I was devastated and could not imagine what I would do with my children for the next two years.

Read More

This article was originally published online at JustOneOpinion.com on February 23, 2009 under the title “Mysteries of the Chinese Language.” I hope you will enjoy this brief overview of the beauty and simplicity of the Chinese language. Please feel free to comment and let me know if you would like more articles like this one. – Chi Newman

Unlike words in the English language, Chinese words are not spelled with letters representing spoken sounds. Instead each word is written as a character that represents an idea.

By combining various characters, the writer can express different ideas. For example: the character “shuo” (to speak) and the character “ming” (bright) used together means “explanation”.

Read More