The cold snap is over in Jiujiang, for now. I've settled in to the rhythm of teaching. It can be frustrating at times, but the key is to have patience and a good sense of humor. Its also a good idea to keep the students on their toes, and have some self-decripcating jokes on hand. These are useful for checking comprehension. Yesterday I took a trip with some friends ( si Zhonggouten he yide Meigouren ) to the Donglin Temple. My American friend has been here three years and speaks good Chinese. Accompaning us were Yange, a bartender and photographer, his girlfriend, and two teacher coleagues. I have replaced my sadhu baba beard with a more converative goatee. The effect is striking. One of my students said "Our teacher has gotten younger!" The taxi-van driver who ... read more

First snow came to Jiujiang on the fifteenth of November. We got roughly 5cm over the course of about 10 hours, and then it switched to rain, leaving an unpleasant remmnant. In other words, much like most Seattle snow. Seems like it changes from Summer to Winter in Jiangxi Province, no fall to mess around with. One week, its muggy and hot, seven days later long-johns are required. It might be a bit tought to adjust, I haven't had a proper winter in two years! I was recruited into a musical performance. First my friend Laura had me do some back-up clarinet to a vocal piece about three weeks ago. A third-year student (English name Elva) saw this small performance, and asked me to do a song with her on the main auditorium stage for a ... read more

Chinese food is delicious. No, I am not talking about the "General Tso's Chicken" prepared by Salvadorean immigrants at your local strip-mall. I refer to the masterful culinary expertise of the local people in the Middle Country. My favorite meal is the "egg-pancake". A young man (with a good sense of humor) places batter on a perpetually-hot circular pan. Next he expertyl cracks open an egg that be places directly on the rapidly-solidifying batter. He then adds cilantro, lettuce, green onion and a chili sauce (that has peanuts in it!). He folds this over, adds "Chinese barbeque sacuce" and a cracker. The result- something similar to the Masala Dosa found in South India, and just as delicious. Price- 2.5 yuan . A close second is the "peanut rice-burrito". A circular portion of sticky rice is placed ... read more

As it turns out, I have a significant amount of free time when my in-class teaching load is about twelve hours a week. Lesson planning isin't too tough, and I think my students like me so far. I've been drilling into their heads every chance I get: "Seattle is the best city in America." Luckily, I have found a wonderful Chinese teacher. His English name is Ross, and he is from Inner Mongolia. He also has a fairly light load this quarter (nine hours of English teaching a week). His wife "Echo" is lovely, and their English is great. They were kind enough to invite me to their apartment for my first home-cooked Chinese meal! Lots of fish- turns out I rather enjoy fried eel. Furthermore, Ross is a big Nirvana fan, so not only did ... read more

Mike, my coworker Laura, and myself took a trip to the countryside on Thursday. Although I was advised not to travel on National Day, the roads were not terribly busy. We got an early start and took a bus to Jingdezhen, the porcelan capital of China. From there we hopped on another bus to Wuyan. At the Wuyan bus station we were swarmed by a group of taxi drivers. The most intense foreign-money seeking I've ever experienced- significantly greater than anything I ever experienced in India (except perhaps for my first day in Kolkata). Luckily we had a "local" guide. Mike (who does not like to be called "ChinaMike" in China) negotiated a fair to the hamlet of Sixi Yancun. Unfortunately, we did not know that this scenic and historic place was fenced off and required ... read more