Doing things out of our comfort zones and participating in an activity that you have never done before can be very healthy for our current and future selves. This past Thursday, I was fortunate to start my Indianapolis Community Requirement (ICR) at the Northview Middle School in the adult education wing. I am assisting Chrissy… Continue reading New Experiences, New Start

“What do I mean by a True Man? The True Man of ancient times did not rebel against want, did not grow proud in plenty, and did not plan his affairs. A man like this could commit an error and not regret it, could meet with success and not make a show. A man like… Continue reading Section F

This past Wednesday was the first meeting for my ICR requirement portion of this course. The evening started out with Chinese take-out, which Kwan so graciously ordered for us. Kwan then went on to tell us about him and how his road to Indianapolis was paved. Kwan Hui was born in Hong Kong China, where… Continue reading IACA Initial Thoughts – First Meeting

Ha Jin’s “Flame” is about a woman named Nimei and her former lover Hsu Peng. Hsu Peng has written a letter to her after 17 years of no contact. The letter explains that he will be in town soon and would like to visit. When she was young her and Hsu Peng were in love,… Continue reading Ha Jin “Flame” Summary and Analysis

“The True Man of ancient times knew nothing of loving life, knew nothing of hating death… He came briskly, he went briskly, and that was all…he received something and took pleasure in it; he forgot about it and handed it back again.” This is what I call not using the mind to repel the Way.”… Continue reading Chuang Tzu Section F Excerpt Analysis

Ha Jin’s “Flame” told the story of a woman who receives a letter from a past love who she hasn’t seen or heard from in 17 years. She cannot understand why he’s reached out or told her about his life, but she writes back that her family will receive him. To prepare, she starts working… Continue reading Reflecting on “Flame”

The excerpt from Chuang Tzu that I liked most came from letter D in the final paragraph. Section D overall discusses the crown prince being given a tutor to help him become a man of virtue. The tutor, struggling to find a way to please the Duke who had given him his task, seeks out… Continue reading Reflecting on “Chuang Tzu”

Recently, I went to Side Wok Cafe located at 1087 Broad Ripple Ave. First and foremost, I always appreciate a good pun, so the name of the restaurant already had me hopeful. The reason I went was because I have my favorite Chinese place back home, but my friends and I decided we needed to… Continue reading Reviewing Side Wok Cafe

On September 22nd, I attended the first meeting with Kwan Hui from the IACA organization. We started out having some Chinese takeout; we had lo mein and dumplings. He then went on to talk about how the organization came to be and some important people within the organization, and the different activities and things they… Continue reading 9/22 ~ IACA Meeting Reflection 1

In the short story “Flame,” Nimei asks her husband, Jiang Bing, to buy and cook fish for Director Liao who is in the hospital. In China, fish represents and is considered to bring wealth and prosperity. This came to be because the Chinese word for fish is “魚 yú” which also means “abundance” or “affluence”… Continue reading “Flame” Reflection