The waiban for Guangxi Normal's shi-da campus (Guo Yuanbing) met us at the train station and packed all our luggage into a tiny van...which we all proceeded to climb into. Thankfully it was a short ride We were taken to the international student and teacher apartments they have here on the shi-da campus, which are nothing like what I expected. The international dorms are similar to hotel rooms, in my apartment I have my own livingroom, office, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. The Foreign Language School Attached to Guangxi Normal University (where I am working) provided me with a rice cooker and several pots and pans (however I have been here in Guilin for nearly 2 weeks now, and I haven't used the stove). Our waiban at the Middle School gave those of us who are teaching ... read more

After weeks of searching, I have found a blog that is not blocked here in China!!! Let me get you all caught up. I left for China on August 17th, just over 2 weeks ago. I had a lot of trouble with my flights, and wound up getting caught up in the O'Hare Airport for 5 hours more than my original flight schedule. Due to some confusion, Jordan and I missed our flight to Toronto - which was our connection to Beijing. We managed to get our flights changed after hours of running around and negotiating with various airlines. We caught our direct flight just in the nick of time and wound up flying with 6 or 7 other people in the CCEP. We landed in Beijing (after a 14 hour flight) on Tuesday the 18th. ... read more