Back in Beijing! It was a uneventful train ride, as I was asleep for most of it. Piece of advice: if you have to take a train for more than five hours get a bunk. It costs a bit more (170 kuai for a hard sleeper v. 98 kuai for a chair one way from Beijing to Hohhot) but your tailbone will thank you for it. I was on the bottom bunk, so no funny stories about climbing the 8" ladder, sorry. Maybe next time. I wanted to take a minute to rave about Chinese hospitality. So far, on my trip, [View Full Entry]

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Today, rather than my usual English class, I took my college-age students out on a field trip. Or, more accurately, they took me on a field trip to Hohhot's newer history museum. The museum is only a few years old, and gigantic. It's a must see if you are interested in the history of Inner Mongolia. But, the best part is that the museum gives away 3,000 free entries each day. All you have to do is walk up to the counter and ask for an admission ticket. Who can beat that? The three floors attempt to cover all the history [View Full Entry]

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So I finally had a day off. This English speaking contest has thrown everything off. I haven’t had a day off for 9 days, so I’m going a little batty. But, the school decided to give us today off and some of the teachers took me to Da Zhao Temple. So, at 9:30 this morning Caroline, Seven, Wendy, Emma, and I took the bus to meet Addison at the Temple. If you ever find yourself in Inner Mongolia, and anywhere near Hohhot, you need to see Da Zhao Temple. If you don’t mind the bus, route 58 goes right to Da [View Full Entry]

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Well, after talking about going for a few days now, I did it. I went to KFC. Now, this may not seem like a monumental task, but after the aforementioned "Duck Head Incident," you could say that I've been a little paranoid about the food I've been eating. Don't get me wrong, I love the food I've eaten, for the most part. But every time I tuck into another meal I have to ask whether or not I am going to eat something incredibly weird. And speaking of incredibly weird, the menu is not what I expected. For starters, there is [View Full Entry]

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Got through today with minimal trauma. I had to give a teaching demonstration to the director but they didn't tell me what to talk about. So I talked about American culture. Apparently, I speak very quickly when I am nervous, a habit I thought I had gotten rid of, so I had to redo my presentation again so that the English teachers could translate for the directors. When I was done, Caroline explained that my presentation was more about testing the English teachers at the school than my abilities (or lack thereof) as a teacher. Huh. I was also paraded around [View Full Entry]

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Guess what I had for lunch on Thursday? If you said Spicy Stewed Duck Heads, you’d be right. Yes. Duck HEADS. I enjoy duck. The breast, the thigh, the wing, not the head. And not fully intact, split in half for the world to see. I nearly ran from the table, and just to be polite I had to sit there and pretend to eat it. I actually played the “what would Susan Yester do?” And I know Mom would take a few more polite bites and then eat other things. And I wanted to do that… But I was so [View Full Entry]

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I’m writing you from Huhehaote in Inner Mongolia. Believe it or not but this town is more like a big city than I would have ever expected. I was thinking maybe this would be small, like Birmingham or Gaylord, but this is more like Detroit. It’s pretty cool, although if you think I drive like an asshole you should never come to China. Pedestrians and people on bicycles just jump in front of cars, and the cars don’t tap the breaks. Merging is a foreign concept, as the lines drawn on the road here in China are mere suggestions of where [View Full Entry]

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So I fail. I didn't realize that the Chinese government was going to reblock blogger five days before I leave for China, but this site is not blocked! So the blog begins again, and I have stories for you! [View Full Entry]

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