The American editor who hitchhiked to Hong Kong, and found himself at home in a changing China

Hooked on: I grew up on the north shore of Chicago, in Wilmette, Illinois, near Lake Michigan. My love of water, water sports and fishing started at a young age. I never imagined the extent to which fishing would grow in importance in my life, becoming a means to understand and appreciate the natural environment, a driver of adventure travel and a source of relaxation, reverie and wonder.

It has taught me patience and through a common interest in fishing I have made many cross-cultural friendships.

My parents were devout Catholics of Irish and Scottish descent who taught my three older siblings and me to work hard, be considerate, humble, optimistic and grateful. I recall us behaving with an unusually high degree of politeness, which began at home but extended outside as well.

With hindsight it was an asset for me in transitioning to the generally very polite and deferential Chinese culture, but I did not realise this until much later.

From dream to reality: I was a lacklustre student in grade school, but things changed when I enrolled in the Jesuit-run Loyola Academy. After getting good grades in year one I was offered an honours course that included Ancient Greek and Mandarin Chinese. The general view was that studying these languages might be an advantage in the college admissions process.

I was 15 years old and China was so far away that it rang some kind of exotic bell. It seemed a rare and unusual opportunity, perhaps the start of a long journey. I was soon hooked and developed an abiding passion for the spoken and written language.

Apart from the exotic appeal, it also seemed likely that America would sooner or later begin a conversation with that 20 per cent of the human race who had been largely isolated from the rest of the world.