Besides going to mountains this winter break, I had another accidental theme: Seeing my students. I’ve been teaching for so long, and with such a large number of students, that it just figures they are now spread all throughout China and I’d bump into them from time to time. This
My Silent Traveling Companion
You might think I traveled alone this holiday, as you see I had a room for one, bought one train ticket and had no one else in my pictures. But that’s not true. I didn’t travel with another person, but I didn’t travel alone. I traveled with someone very popular,
Finishing my Travels on Possibly The Worst Day–Chinese New Years Hassle
It’s really becoming cliche on this blog for me to bitch and moan about Chinese New Year (aka Spring Festival) but really, I cannot stop myself. I wish I could explain the importance of this holiday but it is so hard for anyone outside the country to understand. (Here’s me
Farewell Tour of Zhejiang–Stage 2
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
Yes Virginia, Chinese People DO Protest
Yesterday in my Weixin “moments” (similar to ‘the wall’ in Facebook) a number of bloody/riot pictures started showing up. Men clutching their bleeding heads, hundreds of people marching down the highway and other pictures which aroused my curiosity. Then a foreign friend was going to the airport called me
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
Summer's Officially Over
School starts on monday and I can’t say I’m totally psyched about it. Summer seemed to be gearing up instead of winding down when I had to leave my temporary home in the city of Hangzhou and come back to Lin’an. I know I seem to be saying this after
Teaching English in a Training Center
So I stuck around Hangzhou this summer to do some part-time work and pick up some extra cash, yet with only one week left remaining, I haven’t written much about my job. Despite living and teaching in China for the past 4 years, I’ve only had one job experience at
Welcoming the Hangzhou Subway
Way back 4 years ago, when I first came to China, Hangzhou was beginning to build a subway. Very late to the party, Hangzhou is really the last major Chinese city without a subway. And due to China’s legendary building prowess, the subway was expected to be finished in a
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