Stage one of my farewell tour was saying goodbye to my friends in Shanghai. Like peeling off the layers of an onion, I started furthest away and I’m getting closer and closer to home. Stage two of my farewell tour was all about students, school stuff and Hangzhou. I also
Farewell Tour of Zhejiang
With classes over and a few weeks remaining before I leave for the summer, I’ve wanted to see my friends one last time. I’ll be changing jobs, and moving to a new part of china so it’s time to start saying goodbye to everyone here. I’ve dubbed my month of
Mid-Semester Life
Things are humming along, as they tend to do in the mid-semester mark. The flurry and excitement of the break and new semester has worn off, and the end of the semester is just a bit too far away to get worked up about yet. But life goes on in
Lin’an Hot Springs
A friend recently asked me if I wanted to join her (and her son, her sister, her nephew and mom) for a day out in the Lin’an hot spring. My first thought was what hot springs? I’ve lived here for almost 5 years and I had never heard of the
"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
Summer Magic
I’ve lamented not traveling this summer, but as the summer continues, and winds down, I can say quite happily I do not regret it. I’ve had an amazing time this summer, which I’ll write about more in the upcoming weeks, and incident after incident has reaffirmed that staying here was
Taking Advantage of Big City Culture
I’ll admit for the most part I like living in small cities rather than big ones. Big cities, especially in China, have just too many people and too many cars. But there are some things I’m really enjoying about living in Hangzhou. The cool cafes for one (I’ve whiled away
You Never Know What's Going to Happen
One of the benefits of sticking around this summer is spending time with people I probably wouldn’t see otherwise. Case in point? Last night I went out with 6 former students. A few had just graduated, but most had graduated a year before. They were some of the first students
Not as Bad as I Thought
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
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