It’s impossible to believe, but I am beginning my tenth year in China. It also means it’s my tenth year as a teacher making it the longest job I’ve ever held. Despite that, I almost never think of myself as a teacher. When someone asks me “what do you do?”
Book Review: The Empress of Bright Moon
I consider myself to be a discerning consumer. I’m not highbrow, but I like shows that treat me like an intelligent person, like House of Cards or Game of Thrones, not things like dumb sitcoms or cheesy soaps. Or so I think. I recently realized when it comes down to
Western Women Talking About Chinese Love on CCTV
I’m a member of a club. The “Western women who date Asian club” and while the club is growing, it’s quite exclusive. Exclusive enough that we actually know each other. Do I know every western woman dating /married to a Chinese guy? Of course not. But I know a lot. And
Graduation Weekend
If you’ve read this blog even a little you probably have a good idea of how much I love my students. I was going to write a summed up blog post called Ode to my Students, but then I realized that this entire blog was an ode to them, and
Chicken, Worm, Bunny and Cops: The Many Shapes of China
Recently, the China Daily Show had a funny article about the importance of Tibet and Xinjiang not because of political or economic reasons, but because of the shape. A senior Ministry of Interior Affairs official has claimed that the principal reason behind China’s annexation of Tibet and Xinjiang was to
We're Back! Now Time to Get to Work
Our summer travels have come and gone, and we’re now back in our home in abysmally hot southern China where we are preparing for next semesters classes. I’ll be sharing some details about our trip shortly, but before I do I want to write some general feelings about it. We
“English” Names
So we have been here for a week and everything has been amazing. We are getting to know the place, the people, and even beginning to speak Chinese in everyday life. Of course the reason we are here is to do one thing: teach. I have 8 classes a week
Teacher Day
Teacher Day. It sounds like another Hallmark holiday. In America, I think they do have a teacher’s day in which you are probably suppose to buy a card and give your teacher a shiny red apple. But here in China it is serious business. Teacher’s Day is practically a national
How to Afford Traveling
When we originally started planning on moving to China, there was one giant obstacle in our way: money. We’ve never made much money and pretty much spend what we made on our bills and living expenses. Since I work freelance, I don’t have vacation days so even if we go