(The title rhymes and makes more sense if you know that. “Guangzhou” is pronounced kind of like “gwan joe.”) Minzhi (pronounced kind of like “Min ja”) Primary School, where I work, is always busy. If there’s not a festival or an event for the children, the teachers have a training or guest speaker or something. Read More
Category: Travel
Delivery birthday buffet
(I will readily admit I am behind in my blogs. The following event happened in September and it’s early January.) We celebrated Aubrie’s birthday – and our newfound luxury of quick home delivery of food – with a delivery dinner feast. The birthday girl herself orchestrated it, placing orders at a few restaurants. I was Read More
Line up for the sushi parade!
When we first moved here, the city’s bustling activity could get a little overwhelming. There was so much movement, so many lights and sounds… it was hard to take everything in at once. Everywhere we looked, we saw flashing lights, zooming bicycles and hustling feet. It seemed like everything and everyone was on a path Read More
My dad belongs in a Disney movie.
Last summer, Kim and I road tripped around to see friends and family before we left the country. One of our stops took us to my hometown, Leechburg, PA. While we were barely there 24 hours, we got to have a hearty dinner out with my dad and his wife Paulette the evening we arrived. Read More
A different kind of Sea World
Sea World is not what you’d think About a month ago (and again last night) we went to Sea World! We did not see Shamu and we did not get splashed in the front row by diving sea creatures. In fact, there were no sea creatures to observe. In Shenzhen, Sea World is the Read More
Our relationship was purely Taconic
Our good friends Stacey and Brian live in a part of Vermont near the Taconic Mountains Ramble State Park. Their house is nestled between hills that blaze orange and red in the fall. I imagine they’re doing right now as I write this from my 20th floor apartment in China. The autumn breeze in our Read More
Last chance, sweet durian.
The Chinese teachers in my English department at school are so sweet and generous. At least three times a week, someone is offering me some kind of food. We all walk around to each other’s cubicle with whatever we have so everyone can share. Sometimes it’s chocolate but most of the time it is dried Read More
Dapeng Beach overnight and a whirlwind romance
Saturday the 13th was my birthday. Kim, Aubrie and our Chinese friend Ale whisked me away to Dapeng Beach. I love the beach and I miss salt water and sea air. I miss walking barefoot in the sand and looking for treasures. We had attempted to camp on a different beach last weekend but that Read More
A little Western comfort in Hong Kong
This move to China has meant completing a lot of “firsts” for us. It’s my first move out of the United States. We are teaching in real classrooms for the first time. This is the first time we’ve been completely dependent on public transportation. We have eaten so many new foods, obviously for the first Read More
Durian part II: my own personal pan evil pizza
Since deciding that durian does not belong in ice cream, I’ve seen many other food groups that have been invaded by the fruit. I’ve been curious but afraid. I remember the conflict of my senses: it smells like onion, it initially tastes like onion and it’s creamy. There’s a tiny bit of sweet toward the Read More