Chinese New Year blog
by Chuck Peek
Thought a few of you might be interested in seeing this year’s greeting sent to some of my students and colleagues during the semester we spent in China (Changchun, Jilin Province, Northeast Normal U) in 2005 and the month I spent again in 2008, serving as a Fulbright Senior Lecturer. I’ve sent something each year since our return…and sometimes hear back from a few students and my department chair. College of Foreign Languages, incidentally–the only chance I’ll ever get to claim that!
孙德胜 自动回复 Chinese New Year
Or, at least I hope those are the right Chinese characters!
Greetings to any of those I knew from my 2008 and 2005 visits—and whose emails are still the same. And feel free to forward this to any you know might appreciate hearing from us.
As I write, in the midst of some very tense and troubled world affairs, I’m glad to welcome the Year of the Rabbit.
Just to show I bear no ill will toward the tiger, here’s the photo taken of me and a friend in 2005.
But I’m told that the rabbit signifies mercy, elegance, beauty, calmness, and peacefulness. I can only recall a couple of times in my life when we needed all those qualities as the guiding values of our world as much as we do now.
At 78 and 80, we remain reasonably well and happy, and continue to be way too busy.
Nancy followed up her successful battle with cancer in 2021 by getting very involved in many activities, and Chuck continues to be “editor in chief” of a website celebrating Kearney’s arts and culture while still keeping up with his other interests and his monthly blog.
Now, even 17 years later, we continue to count our semester in Changchun at Northeast Normal University—and with the help of the college, the department, and our wai ban, visiting much of China—one of the richest experiences of our lives.
We can only hope we left behind something of lasting value to all of you and we wish you all the happiness and good luck a new year can bring you!
Let’s all keep dodging COVID-19 and be happy to experience joy and purpose in our lives. Warmest regards to you all from what is right now a very cold Nebraska,
Chuck and Nancy Peek
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