I think tests are meaningless. Students cram right before (or make a cheat sheet) and the minute the exam is over, the promptly forget just about everything they learned. But I’m a teacher and need to play in the system that requires final exams. But instead of a test, I
A Wet, Windy Night in Shanghai
I went to Shanghai over Thanksgiving weekend for a little break and to see my friends. Thursday night we headed for The Bund, the famous strip of Shanghai architecture. The weather sucked, pouring rain and winds, and as we got closer to the waterfront, the wind only picked up more
Back from Kunming!
My month-long intensive Chinese class is over and I’m back from Kunming. I had an amazing time, without a doubt my best holiday yet (and I have had some awesome holidays). In fact, this is the first time where I wasn’t relieved to come back home. Usually, after a month
Wet, Rainy Stones
The sky was dark, the streets were flooded and you could hear thunder in the sky. What to do with that kind of day? Well, walk around outside with hundreds of chinese people of course! Thats right, me and 4 of my classmates from my Kunming Chinese school decided to
So What Should I Say?
I’m not quite sure what to write about my short trip to America. A lot of my friends and family read this blog, and well, I don’t want to insult them or make them feel like I was unhappy to see them. (Because I wasn’t. I was very glad to
Long Time, No See!
I should apologize for my recent absence. Nothing’s wrong, it’s been more of the “perfect storm” of events to prevent me from writing recently. Let me explain. First, my blog got hacked, and it’s still not up to snuff. You’ll notice if you try to go to any page on
The Strange (and Slightly Creepy) Diaolou's of Southern China
I had already seen one unique housing structure during my travels, but it was time to see another. I took a day trip from Guangzhou to Kaiping to look at the Diaolou, or stone house. The other houses I’ve seen were called Tulou, or earth houses, and were made out
The Nanyue King–The Egyptian Pharaoah's Got Nothing on This Guy
In a pretty quiet part of Guangzhou city, there is an impressive museum housing an impressive display. The outside of the museum looks like an Indiana Jones ride at Disney or something, tall, windowless red rock walls etched with carvings of dragons and suns. And while the first building is not
I'm back!
I’m back! I had a great time traveling around southern China for the past month. The weather was warm (though not as warm as I was hoping to be honest) and the scenery was great. I ended up going to 3 more UNESCO World Heritage sites (in my vain attempt
Bags are Packed
So, it’s that time again. Time to hit the road. I’ll be following the same pattern as usual (north in the summer, south in the winter) and this year the start of the trip is in the seaside city of Xiamen. Ironically, almost every single other foreign teacher from my