Teaching English
A Peek into Christmas in China
I’m not a scrooge or anything, but in many ways I enjoy missing out on the pressure of the holiday season back in America. But that doesn’t mean I miss out on Christmas. In fact, if anything, Christmas seems to be getting bigger and bigger around here. This holiday season we had 5 parties to &hellip Continue reading
A Walk in the Woods (with Ben)
There’s no getting around it: my campus is one of the most beautiful in China. The college is nestled in the foothills of Lin’an, and while we have a dirty, fast moving city to the south of the college, the north is entirely wild with mountains, footpaths, hidden lakes and more. On recent Saturday’s Ben and I have &hellip Continue reading
My New Teaching Policy
The Chinese school system is pretty strict when it comes to attendance. If a student needs to miss a class because they are sick, or have an appointment, or need to catch a bus, they always ask for permission beforehand. My personal policy is “no biggee.” I don’t keep track of attendance and as long &hellip Continue reading
The One Time I Leave my House Without a Camera….
I got suckered into being a dancing monkey speaking english for 30-minutes to a group of 3rd graders at our library. before I left the house my hand hovered over my camera. Should I? I decided naaah, it was just a bunch of snot turkeys little kids, and I was just going to be quick. &hellip Continue reading
This Explains a Few Things
You might have noticed I’ve been a little light on the blog posts lately. I typically average 3 posts a week, but for several weeks I’ve only managed a paltry 2. That’s because I’m busy. Crazy busy. This is the busiest semester I’ve had since coming to China. And I’m not really sure why. Some &hellip Continue reading
My Commute
I’ve lived and worked in a lot of places, all with different commutes. When I lived in New Hampshire and worked at a local stationary store, my commute was a 10 minute walk along a river. Once I saw a moose. When I lived in L.A. I had one of the worst commutes on the &hellip Continue reading
I Thought it Would be Fun……
My writing students keep a weekly “adventure journal.” Every week at the start of class I tell them a new adventure to go on some point during the week. Previous adventures have included keeping a dream journal, having a conversation with a tree, and trying a new type of food. The purpose of the adventures &hellip Continue reading
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 ensure future maps of Chinese &hellip Continue reading
Horrors in the Lunch Line
Sometimes I’m busy and just don’t want to deal with going to a restaurant and wasting my lunch break. So I eat at the school cafeteria. The quality is just as dismal as you might think (lukewarm food, prison issue metal trays) but they tend to have a wide variety of dishes and it’s quick &hellip Continue reading
The Bank of Becky’s Class
I’m teaching history this year, which is not my field of expertise. In fact, you could call me a history dummy. Oh sure, I know about, say, Lincoln’s assassination, but if you asked me the date of when it happened I have no idea. I’m not into things like dates and numbers. I prefer the stories &hellip Continue reading
