It’s the time of the year when bloggers do the wrap-up posts and I might as well join the gang. As a teacher I tend to think of things not so much in years, but in semesters. I’d say my first semester could be summed up with one word: friends.
Chinese Scrapping, or Gua Sha (aka, massage from hell)
I wrote awhile ago that I had recently rediscovered the joys of a good massage. You don’t go for the comfort factor, most massages in China are the pressure-point style ones and must be endured, but I find that afterwards it feels really, really good. I don’t go that often,
"Do You Miss Home?" Christmas in China
As it’s the winter holiday, and Christmas, a lot of my students and friends are asking me if I’m going home. When I say no, they ask me “Do you miss home?” And honestly, it’s kinda a tough question to answer. A tough question for most travelers to answer. I
A Chinese Christmas Joke
Last night my little hairdresser told me a funny joke. But to understand it you have to know a little about China. You see, in China, some old people scam people by falling down, and when someone helps them up they accuse that person of pushing them and extort money
Merry Apple Christmas Eve
There’s not much Christmas traditions here in China. Restaurants leave up Christmas trees and decorations all year long, and it’s not strange to hear a Christmas song any time of the year in rotation with Justin Beiber and that annoying Titanic song. But there is one major Christmas tradition in
The First LGBT PSA Made for China
So there is a new PSA making its rounds around chinese social media these days. It’s a PSA supporting the LGBT community and it’s well done. (Youtube video. If you in China, check out the youku version.) I’m really glad this is getting more talked about. Just like in the
Riddle Me This
At the beginning of the semester, 2 of my senior students told me that they had class with one of the other foreign teachers. I was suprised by this because the foreign teacher, Jenny from England, doesn’t teach any of the english majors. In fact, she mostly teaches children. But
A Brief Moment in Chinese Class
I’ve written about some funny things my students have said recently, but what about my teacher? Almost everyday I take Chinese class and some funny stuff goes down in class, albeit not intentional at times. You see, my teacher is as traditional as they come. He thinks women shouldn’t be
Living in the Chinese Pollution
Looks like I spoke too soon about the beautiful weather. (Perhaps I jinxed it?) Not even one day after I wrote that blog post the weather changed from crisp, clear and beautiful to foggy. But not just any fog….the dreaded fog of Chinese pollution. Living in southern China pollution
Counterfeit Money in China
China’s famous for fakes and fake money is a huge problem. Every store has a little “money checking” machines that they run 100 rmb notes through to make sure they’re real, but I didn’t know they were so careful about the smaller bills too. My friend got some fried rice