This article presents four stories of personal experiences of China. In "A Journey Between China's Past and Present," Peter Hessler, a former Peace Corps volunteer and author, highlights misconceptions between Chinese and Americans and the desire both peoples share for knowledge about one another. In "Life on Liberation…

Discusses the three Pacific cultural areas of Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia and identifies the differences within and between the groups. States that a regionwide sense of identity has emerged because these small nations have gained independence from colonizing countries and joined regional institutions such as the South Pacific Forum. (GEA)