I usually travel during the summer, and have never stayed in Lin’an during a holiday before. I was a bit disappointed I had to hang around town, but it turns out that only 3 weeks into summer, things are going great. For instance? Pool party! I haven’t swam in years, but
The Life of a Hermit
After all the hullabaloo of everyone leaving I decided to get all crotchety and become the Lin’an hermit. I only had one week before I was going to move to Hangzhou for the summer, so I decided to go full-blown recluse this week shunning all my friends (missing out on
Is Communication Fate?
As my Chinese is getting better, and I’m making more chinese friends, a thought has been taking shape. Is ease of communication an indication of who I should be friends with? Let’s face it, speaking chinese with me is not easy. You have to work at it. You have to
F&$% You, Chinese!
Summer’s officially arrived and what am I doing everyday?! Studying for the HSK level 5 Chinese test. And not just studying but studying my ass off. I’ve never studied for something like this, and frankly it’s pissing me off. I’m not the most academically gifted student, never have been. I’ve
Phew–I'm Legal Again
The last 5 days I’ve harbored a little secret. I was in China illegally. You see, my current permit expired on June 30th, so on June 28th, a friday, me, my boss and 3 other foreigners trundled off to the police station to register for next year. Only, we got
Goodbye Season
The end of June is always a little bittersweet. Sweet because I have 2 months of doing nothing, bitter because it is time to say goodbye. Foreigners are a very transient group in China and every year a large handful leave right about now. School has only been over for
Party Time!
It’s no secret that I love my birthday. I’ve written about it almost every year on my blog. Having a summertime birthday kinda sucks as a kid (you never get to bring cupcakes into class, your friends are already gone for the summer), so I decided as an adult I’d
One Little Character Makes All the Difference
I went out to dinner the other night with my Chinese friend who can’t speak English. I ordered a few of my favorite dishes and told him to choose some as well. But I had to be careful with him because he likes to eat very traditional foods, like intestines
Left Alone in a Buddhist Temple
Three giant Buddhas, more than 10 feet tall, are staring down at me. Their half-closed eyes look like a smirk. “Laowai,” they seem to say looking at me and my friend Hannah standing in front of their alter, hands clasped together in prayer pose, our knees resting on the padded
Somethings you Can Count on
There are a few things you can count on being a teacher. During mid-autumn festival you get a lot of mooncakes (basically small little fruit cakes) and during Dragon Boat Festival, which took place yesterday, you get zongzi. Zongzi is sticky rice with a filling (meat, egg yolk or bean