About the Title

Having chosen a most esoteric title for this blog, I feel I owe somewhat of an explanation.

My grandfather, Richard H. Gilliland passed away last Thursday. He lived a long and fulfilled life, part of which he spent in Beijing, serving his country as a United States Marine during WWII. Pop, as he was called by his grandchildren, was the reason I became interested in China. I grew up on his stories from the war, sprinkled with broken attempts at the few Mandarin words he'd picked up overseas. As I continued to explore the language, he and I would often exchange thoughts on China's past, present, and future over sandwiches and old photographs. He loved the fact that the family had come full circle -- I'll be turning 19 in Beijing just like he did.

I want to dedicate this blog and my trip to my grandfather's memory. Although I won't exactly be fighting a war during my stay, I'll be futzing around the same city and seeing the same sights at the same time in my life as he did. In his final days, one of the things Pop wanted most was a picture of me on the Great Wall like the ones he'd taken years ago. This blog is the place where that photo will eventually come.

Which brings me back to the title. In brainstorming ideas, I knew I wanted to incorporate a little bit of my grandfather, a little bit of China, and a little bit of myself. 'Chopsticks and Rice' is the obvious China reference, with Pop and Dick (which is what everyone else called him) representing my grandpa. Finally I threw an 'H' into 'Rice' to get my own name without completely destroying the integrity of the original word. I love puns.

Well that's all for now -- gotta pack pack pack. My next post -- hopefully regarding the smooth and flawless travel process -- won't be for a while as I will not have guaranteed internet access until Monday.

再见

Richard 'Dick' Howard Gilliland

1927-2010

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