We have been living in China now for three months, but it does seem like it’s been much longer. In part, it is because we are so busy and have seen and done so many new things. In addition, we have made some really close friends here and spend a great deal of time with them; cooking dinner, barbequing, going out, playing poker, watching movies, and mostly just visiting and hanging out. I have not had friends like this, where we all hung out in large groups, since I was in high school. It is really nice and certainly allows for [View Full Entry]

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Hello everyone! October break is over and we made it back from our Beijing trip safely. This will be our last big trip until Christmas break, but will do some traveling locally and hit Shanghai a couple more times in between. Beijing was everything we thought it would be and a little more. We flew in to be greeted by a thick cloud of smog that Beijing is so well known for. From our hotel room we could barely make out the Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen Square, which as the crow flies was less than a half kilometer, but because [View Full Entry]

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Shanghai, Wow!!! What a place to see. Friday, right after school, we had a taxi pick us up and rush us to the bus station in Beilun for a weekend getaway to Shanghai. The bus trip was about four hours and took us across the newly constructed Hangzhou Bay Bridge, which spans 20+ miles across the bay. Currently they are building a huge restaurant and hotel in the middle of the bridge. I would be very concerned to cross this bridge during a typhoon or tsunami. In addition, riding a bus is similar to riding a taxi, only larger. That is, [View Full Entry]

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Hello everyone! Sorry we have not been good about updating our blog on a more regular basis. We've been really busy with school and have actually also been spending a good deal of time with friends. One of the really great things about living here and working here (Carlan has already expressed this, but it must be restated) is that we actually have time outside of school to do things during the school year. I often don't know if people really understand how hard it is for teachers to have a social life outside of school. It is certainly not for [View Full Entry]

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Hello to all! Carlan and I are continuing to do well. "Mao's Revenge" has yet to strike, or "Beilun Belly," as local expats call it. Nonetheless, I know it is bound to happen in due time. We have mostly been really busy with school and have had little time to get out too much. Last weekend Carlan and I went on a four and a half-hour long bike ride with some colleagues (which was supposed to be just two hours). This also happened to be on one of the hottest and muggiest days so far. We did not bring much water [View Full Entry]

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Well it's official, the first day of school is under our belts. Carlan and I seem to have been on a whirlwind that has yet to settle down. However, now that school has begun things should become a little more normal. We have some really great colleagues and outstanding students. My largest class size is eight and the smallest is three. What is really cool is that today I did not teach until 11:15 and tomorrow I have only one class, which is not until 1:35--unbelievable! Carlan's largest class size is fifteen and her smallest is ten. Her schedule isn't quite [View Full Entry]

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Hello Everyone! We have been here for a week, and we are really enjoying everything. We hope we can keep our blog going consistently so people can see what we are up to, but sometimes things are not accessible online here (like Facebook right now), so if there's no posting for a while, you'll know why. It's hard to know where to begin describing our time so far, but we have been sampling local food - yes, even those street vendors travelers are always warned about. It's delicious, so who can resist? Our school has set us up really nicely with [View Full Entry]

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