Moira Laidlaw

My hobbies include reading (poetry in English, German and Mandarin Chinese, detective fiction); teaching myself to read Mandarin; playing the piano; discussions with friends over a good meal and a bottle of wine; going to the cinema; writing short stories (see some stories about rural China) Historical people I admire include Thomas More (medieval Chancellor of England who defied Henry VIII), Mahamta Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Rosa Parks. All of those people had the courage to speak out against intolerance and exploitation.
Some of my favourite times are when I influence and witness a person's growth and their delight in that growth. To me that's magic! It's what I'm in education to facilitate. I am hoping that this journal will enable new voices to speak and old voices to speak in new ways.
On the next page is a piece of writing I have done about my five years in China. I include it here in both languages and hope you enjoy it. My English was translated by Zhang Zuotang from Shihezi University in Xinjiang (see A few reflections on my China days)