Blogs from Shaoguan, Guangdong, China, Asia

First of all, I published a blog yesterday but for some reason an email didn't go out to all my subscribers, so make sure you read yesterday's blog first. We began our journey north today. Now that the rooting is over, we're off to the Shaoguan Pass, which sounds kind of like the name of the pass in Disney's Mulan where everyone gets bulldozed by an avalanche. Luckily for us, winter hasn't arrived yet and Mushu wasn't there with dragon-shaped weapons. The Shaoguan Pass is important to us Chinese from the Pearl River Delta (the "Alabama of China" as we've been told, minus the alligators) because it's where our ancestors migrated from thousands of years ago (sometime after we all left Africa and before 500 B.C.) Legend has it that the Chinese Emperor had a beautiful ... read more

Happy Holidays! I hope you're enjoying family, friends and a warm home wherever you are! Of these three, I have one for sure and a pretty good attempt at a second -- wonderful friends and a 56F-degree warm home (better than the 40F outside!) -- right here in Shaoguan, China. Before the Fall Term is history, I've lots of adventures and typical, crazy Chinese experiences to tell you about. First, though, about my bat. A few weeks ago, an early cold snap ended and we had a Guangdong Indian Summer, with temps back in the 70's. A few bugs were back, which brought the bats out of hibernation. My front door opens to an outside stairwell and also, as a top-floor unit, I'm right underneath an opening in the roof. About 10 o'clock one night, I'd ... read more

Hello dear friends! Having signed off two months ago to return to my home in the States, I'm glad to be back in my comfortable apartment in Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, China. My summer was a whirlwind, filled with fun visits to family and friends in CT, IL, MI and CA, along with happy reunions with my PA buddies, Valley Meeting "family" and Vanguard friends. In the background and non-stop, I was immersed in winding up the sale of my house and car, and the relocation of most of my possessions into one large and two small storage units. Ta-Da!! -- it's done! So liberating to be unencumbered. No longer any need for homeowners, car or life insurance. Love it!! I've included a few shots from my summer travels: a gorgeous sunset over Lake Michigan, so serene ... read more

Hi Loved Ones and Friends! It's been months since my last entry, due to my being constantly busy in my "part-time" job AND enjoying so many new friends and experiences. I'm going to dispense with my NOTES approach as it just seems easier to write it all out and let you decide how much you want to skip through. Now that I've been in China for six months, I'm feeling ALMOST not like a visitor. The more I get to know my students and the other instructors, the better I like them. Friendly and kind, they are unfailingly patient and helpful. When I thank someone, a most enthusiastic "It's my PLEASURE!" is the reply, with a sincere smile. The people here are altogether very nice, and generally to be intelligent, polite, attractive and hard-working. My neighbors ... read more

Great fun the last few weeks traveling around during Spring Festival (Lunar New Year). A few days after I returned from XiuShui, I was treated by the Tao family to a fancy dinner whose sole purpose was for me to get acquainted with them and their college-age daughter Rose (Tao Ying). Mr. and Mrs. Tao are highly placed government officials. They had asked their friend Mr. Zhang, dean of the Foreign Language Department, to connect them with an English-speaking teacher who wanted to see the sites of Shaoguan. Their plan was to have Rose act as tour guide, and practice her English in the process. Rose was eager to do this, and so was I -- a great plan all the way around. I went to the dinner with my Shaoguan map and sightseeing wish-list in ... read more