What happened? Why return?

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve written (that’s putting it mildly!).  Here’s why: To recap: my wife, Gienah, and I went to Yunnan Province, China in August of 2014 to spend 2 years studying Mandarin language and Chinese culture full-time.  That part of the plan went well and our 2 years ended in late June 2016. The next part of the plan was to buy, start or join a…

Read More

Top 10 Things I will Miss

As you may have noticed from my previous blog posting, we will be returning to the U.S. following our 2 year language and culture studies in China.  In fact, our departure date is today! While it would be foolish to believe I can anticipate exactly how reverse culture-shock will impact me, there are several things I “think” will be true.  Here’s my best estimate for a Top 10 List of…

Read More

High Maintenance Horticulture

Have you “wrapped” your Ficus today?  Ficus trees are very popular here.  Not just as indoor plants, but also as outdoor trees along boulevards and in parks.  It’s interesting for me to see the effort and attention to detail that goes into caring for these trees.  As these photos illustrate, these trees are wrapped in an elaborate and carefully applied organic fabric at the beginning of the “winter” season here.…

Read More

By the Numbers:

How far is it to your nearest Starbucks?  What do you typically pay for your favorite drink at Starbucks? Here’s a breakdown on my Starbucks stats: The Journey: 15 minutes – Walk from apartment to bus 15 minutes – Wait for bus 30-40 minutes – Bus ride to train station 60 minutes – Wait for train 5 hours – Train ride from Dali (Xiaguan) to Kunming There is an 8-9…

Read More

Seeing Red

Did you celebrate the Chinese (Lunar) New Year last week?  Well, you can be sure all 1.4B people here in China did.  In fact, this holiday (aka “Spring Festival”) is China’s biggest and most important holiday of the year and dominates the local culture for at least 1 entire month…something like Christmas and New Year’s holidays on steroids! Spring Festival represents the world’s largest migration, with more than 3 Billion passenger…

Read More

Does Sun ever Set on “Chinese” Empire?!

China’s historical investments in energy and natural resources around the globe are fairly well known…and perhaps even well understood.  But, their more recent investments abroad in technology, brands and talent are almost surely less understood by Westerners – including some in the business world.  Be careful:  developing strategies for China’s future by extrapolating its past is not a promising recipe for success. Perspective (and data) from recent Economist article: Click above…

Read More