So I’m home now. Jet-laggy and culture shocked. I’ll write about that in a bit, but I first want to write about my last few days in Lin’an. With just six days left after my Hangzhou bash, I had finally reached
An Unexpected Semester
I had decided, more than a year ago, that this year would be my last year. I’m not going to leave China, but I’m going to leave the city I’ve called home for the past five years. So I made
Getting Tricked by the Trickster
I’ve mentioned one of my former students Wendy several times on this blog. She is responsible for one of the best surprises I’ve ever helped pull off, and she’s even been to my hometown in America. She loves surprises, and
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
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
Taxi Stories
I’ve been spending a lot of time in Hangzhou with my friends. While I sometimes spend the night at one of their houses, I usually prefer to take a taxi back home. Hangzhou is a 45-minute drive from my school
The Modernization of a Chinese City
If you want to get a taxi you need to stand on any street and just start waving frantically. Lin’an, small city though it is, has plenty of taxis. The problem is finding one that will actually take you where
Out and About in Lin'an, China
My blog focuses on places that I travel to and interesting things I see. But the truth is I spend most of my town in the small city of Lin’an, China. (Pop: approx. 1million–small for China’s standards.) Considering the amount
We Got a Subway Now!! (The More Delicious Kind)
Things have changed a lot in my little boonie city since I first arrived. It used to be I would go out to a dirt/rubble road (with chickens and dogs running freely) to a little shack or food cart to