This month, leading up to Thanksgiving, I’m expressing my gratitude for people who have influenced me in someway–it’s all about the people. Aaron may have been the one to get me to China, but he wasn’t the only friend I … Continued
I just finished my final week as an English teacher at Anhui University in Hefei, China. I’ve learned a lot, taught a lot and hopefully inspired a lot. My final exam for my students, all but one freshmen, was for … Continued
In China, schools don’t compete against each other in athletic competitions. They do compete in language, debate and other scholarly competitions, but there is no NCAA equivalent in the Orient. However, this doesn’t mean they don’t play sports. Instead, each … Continued
A couple of weeks before Easter, I gave each of my students a paper egg to decorate. I let them decorate them however they wanted and was pleasantly surprised by some of the fantastic and creative eggs I got back. … Continued
Last week my lesson was all about family and genealogy because at the beginning of this week was the Chinese holiday Tomb Sweeping Day, which is traditionally when people clean the graves and tombs of their ancestors. Now it is … Continued
Over the last month, I gave a couple of lessons on Christmas. We talked about decorations, music, Santa and baby Jesus. We talked about how Americans and others around the world celebrate their biggest holiday. Middle School My first big … Continued
Last week after the wonders lesson, I taught a lesson on Halloween. They don’t celebrate Halloween or any of the traditional holidays like All Soul’s Day since they have never been a Christian culture. However, some of the bigger cities … Continued
Last week I finished a lesson on the wonders of the world and China. I learned a lot getting ready for this lesson and found out fast that it would be hard to talk about wonders of the world since … Continued
Here in China I’m considered a foreign expert. In fact, I have a card that says as much and couldn’t get my residency permit unless I was considered a foreign expert. I guess since I’ve been speaking, reading and writing … Continued
When I came to China, I expected the university life for the students to be very different from what I had experienced. I was told that Chinese students are in class or studying 24/6.5 and that they didn’t have time … Continued