Time in An Ren with it's one main road, motor bikes, lorry trucks passing through with incredibly loud horns beeping at everything and anything even if it's 200 meters ahead; With my kind grandma neighbour and her grandson who bring me chestnuts by the bowl full weekly and just recent brought over freshly made Chinese pancakes; To the kind lady who cooks us as close to a homecooked meal as we get here; To the husband and wife who own the dumpling store on the corner, where we have been saying yi ger jou zer asking for a serving of dumplings, [View Full Entry]

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Abroad. Adv. at large; in a foreign country. On my side of the world life is quiet, relaxed, manic, surprising, overwhelming, fun, nerve racking, homely, pure, interesting, old, traditional, fresh, littered, tasty and I am definitely attending the University of Life! Many people in this tiny rural town have never seen a foreigner so our every move is watched with intrigue, confusion and curiosity. Today we had a line of at least 10 people follow us around the supermarket while trying to do some basic shopping. Everyone stops and stares while we are walking down the street and when w [View Full Entry]

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I have been invited to teach in a small town in Hunan Province (Chairman Mao's birthplace). My small town is called Anren. The students have never had a Foreign teacher and many people have never seen a foreigner. So I will not only be representing Australia, but every Western Foreigner. I am sure my quirks, mannerisms, personality and character will be looked upon with a magnifying glass and thought of as the norm for foreigners. I arrived at my new school which is in a very rural area. We (Dana from The USA & I) were driven 3 hours off the [View Full Entry]

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