Category: culture

Last day in pictures

I’ve now been back stateside a little more than a week. Jet lag is conquered and graduate papers are semi-conquered. Tomorrow I head up to Wheaton and Monday, yes Monday, as in the fourth of July, I begin… Read More

Picnicking Chinese Style

Earlier this week, some students invited me to join their class picnic. While I did not teach them this semester, I had taught their class for two years, so knew the students quite well. In the midst of… Read More

Surprising Stella

On Tuesday we surprised Stella with a little graduation party. Surprising her turned out to be quite the chore. The party had been planned for the previous week, but down with a bit of a cold, she decided… Read More

Pain in the neck

Sorting through all the things you accumulate over a period of six years and figuring out how to move all of that back to America in two fifty pound suitcases is a pain in the neck. But that’s… Read More

All about the kids

Today is Children’s Day, which apparently is an international holiday. Speaking from personal experience, I don’t think the holiday is acknowledged in the States. But China? In China it’s a day for children to eat copious amounts of… Read More

The man with the big camera

We rarely get a picture of our entire team together. First of all, there’s a lot of us. Second of all, when we’re all together, there’s usually not anyone else around to take our picture. Thirdly, it’s just… Read More

Chinese Acrobats

I thought Chinese acrobats were primarily found in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai where they astonish and delight hordes of tourists passing through. However, lately I’ve become convinced that a few acrobats have fled their former occupation… Read More

Be careful who your friends are

We arrived at the countryside late Friday afternoon and were set free to explore until dinnertime. Kami and I headed out, excited to have dirt instead of concrete below our feet. On the way we encountered Seth and… Read More

Faster than the speed of light

Have you ever wondered how China could change at such an impossibly fast speed? Exhibit A: A dormitory is currently being built right outside my window. Which means I get an up close and personal glimpse into the Chinese… Read More

Sunday Snapshot: Twin Time

This weekend I headed off to the big city for a quick trip. One of the primary motivating factors was a visit to my Chinese nephews. These twins are seriously some of the cutest little Chinese boys I’ve… Read More