Hello out there in blog-land, Today´s entry includes tales of me being vintage Brett and of course getting myself in trouble by trying to be clever...so here goes. I´m sitting in Spanish class, which at the moment I do from 9 to 1. Starting tomorrow it will be 5 hours because I decided I needed an extra hour of personal tutoring in order to do some remedial Spanish work. So....I´m sitting in class yesterday and the teacher teaches us the verb ¨to lie.¨ In the previous lesson we´d learned career words, so I decided to put a whole sentence together [View Full Entry]

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Okay folks....the blog is back! When we last read about my adventures, I was half-way around the world experiencing China. For the next three weeks I will be south of the border in the Mexican city of Morelia. It is here that I am attempting to learn Spanish in preparation for graduate school study in International Relations. Before you snicker (some of you might already be doing so) I know I have had my share of cultural faux paux...but...well...okay this will probably be no different. First the disclaimer.... My blogs from the Middle Kingdom were on my own computer. This [View Full Entry]

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Hello out there in blogland, So it is with great regret that I announce that my time in Beijing has almost come to an end. The return to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was inevitable and is fast approaching. Today's blog will partially be a continuation of last entry, and some new stuff.....so away we go! Last blog told the story of a random old man who I befriended. Well, it turns out that I have become part of the neighborhood more than I knew. In fact, my favorite part really of living here is being able to see the same people [View Full Entry]

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Hello residents of blog-land: First off...Happy Mother's day 2006 to all the mother's out there! No offense to all the mother's reading this, but my mom is the world's best. (And since I'm on the other side of the world, I can definitely say that with some authenticity). So....as I sit here at my computer on a beautiful Sunday day...I'm starting to reminisce about my time here in Beijing, and I offer you this anecdote for the day of how far I've come in four months. I was sitting in the park next to my apartment, finishing up a John Grisham [View Full Entry]

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Okay....bloggland residents....there are many stories to tell...but in this entry I will post some pictures from the group trip to the land of Tibet. Enjoy! Stories to follow in the next entry! Until Later, Brett [View Full Entry]

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Hello all in blog-land, I am currently in Tibet right now. However, I just wanted to write to say that an update on my travels in the form of a new and exciting entry is coming in a couple days when I return to Beijing. Included in the new entry will be pictures of me at the Mt. Everest basecamp, me on a pony cart, and well....stay tuned. Until then, Brett [View Full Entry]

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Hello out there in blog-land! Yes, it has been way too long since an entry from yours truly. But alas, I'm back, and I hope you enjoy today's installment. The focus of today's entry, and at least one more, will be the visit to China by my parents. Yes, in a much anticipated event, China would now try to contain 3 Yellens at one time. No small task for sure. Would the country ever be the same? Well...let's find out.... *** My parents arrived on a Monday afternoon. I was to meet them at the airport and guide them back to [View Full Entry]

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The topic of today's blog is...well....odd. So, strap yourself in for a fun tale fit for "Ripley's Believe It Or Not." My host family seems to have a love affair with fish. That doesn't mean they take particularly good care of them or anything, just that they are everywhere. In my house there are two tanks....one in the kitchen and one in the host father/brother's room. In their other apartment there is also a giant tank. This being said, since my arrival several of them have been flushed over to the "toilet bowl in the sky" with little or no fanfare. [View Full Entry]

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So yesterday of course was the Ides of March. The fateful day in 44 BC where Julius Caesar met his untimely death. Some 2000 years later, yours truly entered the world. Well, this year my birthday would be spent in Beijing. This was extremely weird for those back home sending me birthday wishes because, given the time difference, they would have to do so the day before. Many seemed confused why they were wishing me a happy birthday on March 14th. From my perspective it was "Brett-fest '06" in that when I talked to some of my family the next day....it [View Full Entry]

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Hello out there in blogville, So...you may be familiar with Brett Yellen, China's preeminent statue poser. But alas, I will now gain fame on a much larger scale as a recording artist. Look out Beatles, Elvis, and Rolling Stones...here I come. However, rather than the rock and roll, I will have chosen to make my name in the spoken word genre. Two weeks ago the other exchange teacher and I received word that we would be recording dialogue to help the Jingshan School students prepare for the massive national exam. Basically, and this isn't over hyping the test, this exam is [View Full Entry]

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