It began with a bit of a hiccup. National or rumored international Mayday was the previous weekend. However, Senior 3 would need the entire school for exams the following weekend, so rather than giving the first and second year student's two 3 day weekends in a row they delayed the holiday to this weekend. Throw out the plans of students seeing their families when they were let out of the factory hundreds of miles away, teachers who had rented cars and made reservations with friends in other provinces, national edict and rumored international sanction. After a week of hearing plans dashed, ours were delayed with little interruption. Students from the town of Jianghua itself wanted to give us the tour de culture past and present. As the students usually get up at 6am they decided to ... read more

This past weekend was Qing Ming Jie or Clean the tomb. A time when people go to the mountains where the dead have been buried. There they maintain the tomb; and resupply the past away with food and money by burning incense, fireworks and paper money. They also make a few special treats one is quan zi (read chuan zi not Kwanza), a triangle ball of beans and rice wrapped in a thick green leaf and steamed. The other is ba ba a green glutinous rice flour patty with sugar, honey and peanuts in it. Sort of came out tasting like baklava but the rice flour is like a gooey green tamale also wrapped in a bamboo leaf and steamed. The latter is much better than the prior. Our students got 5 days off and most ... read more

Buckland Group Orientation week. So far I have found that this is a great group to be working with. We are having our orientation and the staff is really helpful and encouraging. They also are setting us up for our possible problems so we shall see what comes of it all. Friday we get shipped off to our school and next week we start teaching. ... read more

We fly out of LAX tomorrow, February 11th, at 12:30 PM. Steve and I are staying at my sisters place these last couple days in the States. Our bags are packed, our paperwork is in order, our bellies are full, and now it's just a matter of time. I am quite calm considering we are heading into a completely different cultural and linguistic experience. Neither of us have a good command of the Chinese language, so getting around and interactions will prove difficult. But I look forward to learning a new language and being immersed in a different society, where Communism follows a long history of Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Feudalism. There's a lot to be learned and a great opportunity to grow as a human being as we cross into a once forbidden land on ... read more

Keren and Steve get Married We got married at Devil's Lake in Baraboo. We had a renaissance themed wedding full of feasting and merriment. Everyone participated in the wedding. My mother officiated the ceremony, my dad roasted a pig, Steve's parents and sister hired a lively celtic band, our friend Jenn made us a beautiful wedding cake, my friend Adriana made my wedding dress, and Steve's mom made his tunic. Everyone got dressed up and enjoyed drinking fruity mead, dancing, and eating. ... read more