CREATESPACE East Meets West: A Cross Cultural Handbook: A Cross Cultural Handbook

After my happy life in Seattle Pacific University obtaining my MEd degree, I returned home and planned to settle down as a regular English teacher. However, faith found me at the turning point of my life. Before I set out on my journey to undertake my PhD in England with my one-year-old baby girl, I never knew that God had a higher purpose in my life that is beyond what I can imagine. Now here I am with the story of my daughter’s cross-cultural life journey, full of awesome wonder. It is also a story of joy and of my growth through motherhood and the challenge of becoming a professional applied linguistics teacher under the supervision of Prof. Vivian Cook at the initial stage, followed by Prof. Martin Atkinson’s and Mr. Philip Scholfield’s joint supervision. I am indebted to their guidance, encouragement and understanding to support me as a full time PhD student, and at the same time, as a full time mother. This book has slowly become reality over a span of 20 years and life has indeed proved to be a miracle full of surprises! The most important lesson I learned is that a loving mother can be a highly qualified teacher who will never stop imparting motherly love, wisdom, and rich resources as well as introducing boundaries and discipline into her teaching and academic research. This book is for you mothers, who want innovative ideas to motivate your children to learn English; for teachers, who are searching for authentic materials and ideas to design and plan your lessons and courses; for students, who have dreams of cross-cultural adventures and would like to sharpen your insight for the journey ahead; for third culture kids, who feel that you appear to simultaneously belong everywhere but feel like nowhere, here is a safe place to look for a common ground to reflect on your life experiences so you may get to know your own better. The plan of this book follows geographic location and chronological order, with sub-sections on art, food, and leisure. It begins with my daughter’s childhood in England, continuing with her experiences in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. During her college years in the United States she meets a brave young American college boy who accepted my invitation and was willing to travel with us and broaden his world view in this increasingly globalized world. His pursuit of communication, understanding and deeper appreciation for cultures other than his own encourages and inspires us all! Indeed, there is no greater joy than to see my child flourish through her third culture experiences as a kid and later strengthen her capacity to bridge the gaps that so often divide us culturally, then also to see her fiancé so willing to step outside his comfort zone to take the challenge one day at a time until the breakthrough spreads strength and wisdom inside of him. Lastly, our contribution of practical survival English package to our beloved readers that can help equip anyone who will be interested to sharpen their English in order to launch their own cross culture journey so they can be effective communicators in this increasingly global era. So buckle your seat belts and spare me some of your time to journey with me from England to Formosa Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.