To know me is to know I love popcorn. The first 6 years of my working life I worked in a movie theater and there are only two kinds of people that work at a movie theater; those who hate popcorn and those that love it. You can probably guess
Dinner with my Students
At the end of class on friday four students stayed behind to talk to me. It is not uncommon for students to hang out for a few minutes, but it is uncommon on a friday afternoon when usually they run out the door. After they told me they took part
The Swiss Family Robinson are a Bunch of Jerks
Being an avid reader in a country that doesn’t use your native language can be a problem. To get good stuff to read I either have to download it, have it shipped to me, or go to a big city and spend a bunch of money on imported books. None
Cute Culture
Everything here in China is cute. You probably think I’m making a generalization but look at the evidence, would you. Exhibit A: Packs of tissues you have to carry around to use as toilet paper (which is not provided in bathrooms here). Exhibit B: If you think it’s just the
My Tea Review
I have been terribly remiss in my tea review writing since I’ve gotten to China despite the fact that I have been drinking more and better tea then I ever have before. So, I finally got one done and if you are interested you could check it out here.
A Nice E-mail
I think all teachers appreciate finding out that their students are “getting it.” I recently got an e-mail from a students that showed indeed something that I am teaching them is getting through. Yay! The Chinese school system is focused on memorization as a teaching style, not creativity. So I
Some Random Pictures
To celebrate our three month anniversary I thought I would share some random pictures from our time here. Â Enjoy! We haven’t had time to travel much but this was a pit stop during a trip into the countryside. It was beautiful.
Three Months In.
Today is the 3-month anniversary of Ryan and I arriving in China so I thought I would take this moment and pause to reflect on our new life. Overall things are going great. We are getting accustomed to being strangers in a strange land eating strange things. And many of
Since I Don't Have Turkey….
Spending an American only holiday in another country is certainly interesting. Out of all the strange animals Chinese people eat, the one thing they don’t eat is turkey. So, it will be a turkey-less Thanksgiving for us. In fact, I’m still sick,–coughing and sneezing and all that good stuff– so
Baby it's Cold Outside!
Remember when I was complaining how hot it was this summer? I knew at some point I’d be cold and dreaming of those stifling hot days… I just didn’t know it would be so soon. Southern China has had an unusually cold weather plunging the temperatures to freezing and creating