I. My career in academia:
As a professor in higher education, my teaching career spans over 30 years and across many countries, including China, Australia, Sweden, Canada, and the United States of America. Over the years, I have taught a variety of subjects in social sciences and humanities at colleges and universities, including An Introduction to Sociology, An Introduction to Philosophy, World History, American History, American Political Though, Speech and Communication, English Composition.
II. Besides my professional career, I am also an amateur photographer.
Apart from teaching, book writing, and administrative work as the chairperson, I devote much of my other wake time to landscape photography, which is my favorite hobby. Besides a photo trip in my local areas almost every weekend, I make long photo journeys -- both bomestic and overseas -- every year, taking all kinds of photos -- landscape, travel, and people. Outdoor photography gives me an opportunity to enjoy and admire the beauty of nature more than anything else. Of course, landscape photography for me is more than just taking pictures. When I am out and about, I also find myself thinking about many big issues, such as truth, reality, and human nature. Such mental exercise done in solitude sharpens my mind and broadens my vision, which benefits me greatly me as a professor.
III. Music is my other hobby which I have enjoyed since my childhood.
Music is an essentail part of my life. In my spare time, listening to music, going to concerts, and playing musical instruments are activities I enjoy very much. Among my music collection are hundreds of CDs, most of which are classical music. I started playing the erhu (a Chinese instrument) when I was a child. A few years later, I switched to the violin. Though I stopped playing any instrument for many years due to frequent moving and relocation across the world, music was always part of my life. Nowadays, putting a CD on the stereo system and letting myself immersed in the beautiful sound, or playing the violin for a while is the time when I feel most relaxed and entertained.
