Tag Archives: Chinese life
Dragonsocks
My school just acquired two more books for our English library. One is a second copy of Harry Potter 6. Even assuming that whoever bought these books doesn’t read English and only picked the book based on color, what are … Continue reading
The Laowei Secret Handshake
Today is China and my two-month anniversary! Last night, I got a phone call from Cora, another foreign teacher at a nearby school. When I was in England and I met other Americans, we’d laugh about how many potatoes and … Continue reading
You Want Me to What?
When I was preparing to come to China, I tried to learn important phrases in Chinese, like “Thank you”, “How much?” and “Where is the bathroom?” I did not learn “And now your foreign teacher is going to sing Edelweiss,” … Continue reading
Pictures For My Dad
The Great Chinese Scallop Shell Stockpile: The Final Resting Place Of Scuffy The Tugboat:
Look, I can read!
I’m not sure if identifying the words rain water on a gutter really count as literacy.
Grave – Sweeping Day
Today is Grave-Sweeping Day in Yantai. I can’t possibly express how pleased I am to find out Chinese holiday that doesn’t involve lighting any late-night fireworks under my window. On Grave-Sweeping Day, residents of Yantai don’t actually sweep graves. They … Continue reading
Mutants and Masterminds
It’s hard to pick a favorite class, but I think my middle school boys are awesome. The other day, we did comparative adjectives. First, I asked the boys for their favorite X-men, and we played superhero charades. Some of the … Continue reading
The Pride of Yantai, Shandong Province
Before I came to China, my only experience with the wordforeigner was the first few seconds of an old song and Stick shouting “The pride of Rochester, New York!” In Yantai, though, it may as well be my name. When … Continue reading
The English Channel
CCTV 9, the English channel on the Chinese television, recently covered the Ukrainian election, in which two of the candidates are named Victor, without making a single joke. Come on, that’s just bad news reporting. It’s like not saying “into … Continue reading
The Value of a Hogwarts Education
I bought Harry Potter in Chinese. My adult students were shocked and appalled that I spent so much on a DVD, comparative shopping is a competitive sport here and every time I mention anything to do with shopping, someone tells … Continue reading
