During my first trip to China in the summer of 1985, I visited English Corner in Peopleâ??s Park in Shanghai one Sunday afternoon. Itâ??s one of the places where young Chinese people used to practice their English with visiting foreigners. Officials from the university where I was teaching in Shanghai escorted me there, and a big crowd quickly gathered to talk with meâ??a tall, curly-haired foreignerâ??and pushed closer to shower me with questions.
Some of the questions seemed strange to me (â??Do all Americans have AIDS?â?) but most were routine, such as, â??Where are you from? How do you like China? Are you married? Do you like Chinese girls?â? After two months in China, none of this was surprising to me except for one additional question: â??What is your religion?â?
Read Full Article »