I came to China to join my husband who was working here as a general manager, and wasn't sure about the teaching opportunities. Being in an area that has few foreigners, in fact I know of no other Americans here in this city, my first priority was to just get acclimated to my new location in a new culture where I did not speak the language. After several months I was asked to teach for a language company in a school nearby. Naively I said yes, but after only 2 days decided that this was not for me. The class size [View Full Entry]

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The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway. In the summer of 2006 I traveled to China for the very first time in my life. In addition to the technical and vocational challenges that I knew I would face I had a strong desire to get to know the people and culture of China in a much deeper way than just a visit. The people of China have proven to be friendlier and more interested in me (a westerner) than I ever was expecting. Because of that I have learned so much and experienced things I [View Full Entry]

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I really hope you are able to view these video links. They are quite good! ***ANOTHER UPDATE*** This clip shows the top 5 selection for the elementary and junior high groups. Top_5_Selection ***UPDATE*** Take a look at the Top 10 competition in Beijing on CCTV Podcast link below Top_10 ANNIE Yes we just got the call from Beijing and Annie Ruan is the National CCTV Outlook English winner for the junior high division. She said to thank all of her American friends for their support and that it feels like a dream. The entire Beijing contest will air on national television [View Full Entry]

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We decided to celebrate our 29th anniversary by climbing The Great Wall. We weren't sure exactly what to expect, but it did not disappoint. We got up early and were the first visitors on the wall by 8:00 am Monday morning. We were not expecting as many steps along the wall as we encountered, but the climbs were worth it as it was truly a spectacular sight. It was quite a pleasure as we did not encounter the large crowds as we had in seeing the other Beijing sights. A great place to be for a memorable wedding anniversary! More photos [View Full Entry]

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***UPDATE NEWS*** Great news! We just learned that Annie has made it to the Top 3 Finalist. We think she will compete again tomorrow for the crowning of the champion. Stay tuned!!! ***UPDATE NEWS*** We have just learned that Annie has been selected as one of the Top 6 finalist. She will compete again on Thursday 5/29 for the selection of the Top 3 and then the champion will be selected this weekend. I have added a couple of new videos of her performance. Hope you enjoy! What a great experience for us all. ***UPDATE NEWS*** Just a brief update to [View Full Entry]

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We have heard from so many friends this week after the China Earthquake that we at least want to let people know where we are and that we are safe in southern China. We have been here nearly 2 years and enjoyed this adventure even more than we expected. Even though Shunde is a city of over 1 million people Google hasn't even added it to their map. Shunde is located just a 1 hour drive south of Guangzhou which is a major city of 8 million people and is just 2 hours northwest from Hong Kong. It is an easy [View Full Entry]

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Beijing Competition Schedule May 23 - 1st day of competition and selection of Top 10 from the 20 finalist May 25 - 2nd day of competition and selection of Top 6 May 29 - 3rd round of competition and selection of Top 3 May 31 - Champion Selected from each age group Janis and I are headed to Beijing for the 1st two rounds of the competition. We will keep you posted on Annie's progress. ************************************************** We'll it looks like Annie is headed to Beijing next week. She is one of 4 finalist for her age group that will participate in [View Full Entry]

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Another quick Asian adventure this weekend as we traveled west to Xi'an located in the north western part of China. Xi'an is a city of 8 million people with no mass transit system so you can imagine the number of people on the street. We've never seen so many people. We visited the Terra-cotta solders and rode bikes on the city wall which dates back to 200 b.c. Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province in the People's republic of China. As one of the most important cities in Chinese history, Xi'an is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals [View Full Entry]

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Our hunger for adventure seems to be getting stronger and stronger. Another week and another new experience and adventure. This week we traveled to beautiful Singapore flying directly from Guangzhou, China. Still the usual drill, I work and Janis plays. What a life she has! Singapore is an island nation located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At 704.0 km² (272 sq mi), it is one of the few remaining city-states in the world and the [View Full Entry]

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Another Winning Performance! The third round of the CCTV Oral English contest proved to be the most challenging thus far. Hosted in Guangzhou a city of 8 million in southern China gave Annie plenty of new competition. The students competed in 4 different age groups: elementary, junior high, senior high, and university levels. Annie's junior high group was made up of 11 students from all over Guangdong Province. Each student is given 2 topics to prepare a 2 minute speech for. Then they randomly select 1 of the 2 topics for each student to recite. Annie's speech was titled, "Why I [View Full Entry]

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