I learned the technique of delayed listening as Japanese sermons were translated into English through Korean and as Kazhak was translated into English through Russian. I learned how to laugh at jokes long before I heard what the joke was. I learned to get by with co-ed bathrooms and to appreciate the logic of not wearing shoes inside the house. I learned not to notice the secret police quietly video taping us foreigners on Beijing's streets. But I also learned that beyond all the external trappings of culture and language, we are not all that different .
Children everywhere laugh and play.
It seems all boys like wheels, and girls like dolls and stuffed animals. Fathers and mothers everywhere love their children. People everywhere appreciate beautiful things. People everywhere dream. People everywhere value friends.