Matthew B Christensen Author & Editor

Pierre Ostrowski is a Canadian who left the frozen North for Asia in 1996. He has spent his time in Asia teaching English, studying languages and traveling as much as possible. He studied Chinese at Providence University in Taichung, Taiwan. In addition, he spent his leisure hours studying Chinese cuisine and perfecting his Ma Pou Doufu recipe. Although he has traveled to over twenty countries in Asia and elsewhere, some of his fondest memories are related to China. As far as he's concerned, there's nothing quite as sublime as sitting on a remote section of the Great Wall of China and watching it snake off into infinity over rolling hills of green…the perfect Chinese moment.

Gwen Penner, a graduate of the University of Manitoba's Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honors) program, is the recipient of numerous awards in painting, drawing and printmaking. She has spent the last several years living in Asia. An inquisitive person, Gwen has a profound understanding of Chinese culture, and her insight into the intricacies of Chinese culture comes through in the many subtle nuances she incorporates into her illustrations. She is fond of traveling throughout China and talking with the locals to learn their interpretations of what it means to be Chinese.

Dr. Matthew B. Christensen is the Academic Director of the Chinese Flagship Center at Brigham Young University, where he is also a Professor of Chinese in the Department of Asian & Near Eastern Languages. The Flagship program is a partnership among the federal government, education, and business, meant to help graduates take their place among the next generation of global professionals, by attaining superior level Chinese language and cultural skills. Christensen holds degrees in Chinese, International Relations, and Chinese Linguistics. His focus on the usefulness of cultural codes results from his frequent observations in China of students' difficulties when they try--and fail!--to use U.S. cultural codes there.