Blogs from Hunan, China, Asia - page 15

Sup everyone. It's been awhile but i've been busy. As most of you know I got my job teaching at Shaoyang University. I'm pretty excited as I can be back in the city I really enjoy where most of my friends are as well as start teaching university. Not bad for a 23 year old I think. Granted it's China and it's not that hard but American employers don't know that ;). I'm happy because I actually have authority and more responsibility. Teaching high schoolers, if they are bad there's really nothing I can do about it. Going to the head master only gets me responses like "You don't need to worry about this, just try your best." thanks. So it doesn't matter that no ones listening to me in class and you're paying me a ... read more

Happy New Year readers! I am sorry this has taken me a while to write, but as some of you know, I have been a bit poorly since we arrived home from our fabulous trip. I have been stuck in bed with acute gastroentiritis and have been off work for a whole week. I don't think I can remember ever being this ill or being off work for a week! I haven't actually eaten a proper meal for a whole 7 days now, it is bizarre, but a great way to start my New Year diet! I should be back at school on Monday to the joys of assessment week, hurray! Well, here is the final part of our trip. Firstly, I am afraid we weren't quite as snap happy in this second part, mainly due ... read more

Songs I had never heard them sing. As we stepped back from our daily routines the light shone more brightly in the student's eyes. Mine had experienced their first foreign teacher. For many the first foreigner they had ever seen. Keren's had had many before but upon leaving shared with her that she had been their favorite. Through their teenage facade she had put her heart out there and gave them all she had and in the end I think they knew that. Mine had not learned that the foreign teachers will come and go like the tide that we are there only for a short while in their long school days. The respite we gave them from their otherwise wrote memorization was not always as welcomed as the known sit and stare blankly method of ... read more

To those of you who have suffered through one of my massages...to those of you who have writhed in agony on the table as I dug my elbows into your back, your glutes, or your shoulders...to those of you who screamed, cried, begged for mercy, sweated, clenched the table...I dedicate this blog TO YOU. Because yesterday, it was my turn to be pummeled into a crying, sweating mess by an 80-pound Asian lady who showed no mercy. But anyway, we'll get to that. Yesterday we unfortunately awoke to more overcast and gray, which again has put a real damper on my beloved photography (the visibility is just terrible, and it's almost impossible to see the true beauty of this place). Today calls for more gray and even some thunderstorms later on, but luckily the next three ... read more

Let's do the math on this one. Really nice hostel = $4 a night. Lunch of dumplings and noodles in the most beautiful park I've ever seen = $1.50. One-hour massages by highly skilled therapists = $3.50. The temperature outside = 79 degrees. They have mountains, palm trees, and wild monkeys. We may never leave this town! Ah, Guilin. This is the spot I was most looking forward to, and it does not disappoint. After another hearty breakfast at our hostel, we hitched the bus down to the river and were immediately at home in the humidity, the palm trees, and the ambiance of, funnily enough, a small southern city like Savannah or Charleston. Aside from the crazy karst mountain formations everywhere and the Chinese signs, we could almost be home... Unfortunately the gray and overcast ... read more