Tag Archives: mandarin

Marco Polo

Stick and I took our niece Isabel to the pool today. We played a pick-up game of Marco Polo, with some neighborhood kids, and watched a hundred thousand times as Isabel’s cried “Watch this! Look at me!” It was fantastic, … Continue reading

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End Of Part Two

I’m still in Beijing, but I’m getting into an East Coast sleep pattern already. It comes from lying in bed wondering exactly what I’m going to do with myself next, and then waking up to an anxious countdown of time … Continue reading

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Feel-Good Revolution

After Saturday night KTV with the CNReviews crew, on Sunday Stick andI met up with Heather and Will. They’ve been living in our complex since the fall, although we hadn’t met. We know some of the other teachers in their … Continue reading

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Take Care Knock Heads

In Beijing, it’s hard to get away from the Olympic improvements. I think the changes are somewhere between using the good china for company, and completely reinventing your wardrobe, habits and personality to attract some guy from history class. (Not … Continue reading

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Twelve Kwai Of Trouble

Stick and I went back to our possible hutong home, mostly to see if we could find it on our own. We were successful, and I fell even more in love with the neighborhood. The area is Brick Factory Road, … Continue reading

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Yanjing

My specs had a tragic accident today. After Sven helped me out at school with a superglue temporary fix, I went to the specs store to get new ones. We get Stick’s contact lens solution at a little glasses shop … Continue reading

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Illiterate At Best

I’ve hit a frustrating plateau with my Chinese-speaking. When I speak, I give the tones a good shot, and hope for the best. If I can’t get the tone of “glass” right, hopefully the rest of the sentence, usually “I’d … Continue reading

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The Open-Door Policy

Long before I came to China, I saw pictures of the old-fashioned Chinese homes. I loved the semi-enclosed porches, roofed patios, open-air stairs… like the kind you kind in Beihai Park. I loved that the distinction between inside and outside … Continue reading

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Non-Standard

I asked my TA a Chinese-language question this morning, and she managed to suppress her laughter long enough to answer me. My Chinese is pretty bad, the tones trip me up, and also I learned to speak in Yantai, and … Continue reading

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Teaching Little Ones

My first two days of classes were great, but also overwhelming. I have 6 classes of 25ish kindergartners per day. Fortunately I only work 3 days a week, oddly enough it’s Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, which were the days I … Continue reading

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