Reflections: My Favorite Assignment for University Students
Last year, I got to teach a cross-cultural communication class for the first time. This has been one of my favorite classes to teach. We had a team of teachers teaching the class for different students, but last semester was the first time the class was compulsory, so...
So Many Activities!
The last couple of weeks have been the season of activities and competitions! Last week, I had three different activities at my school or other schools. So what are some of the activities that foreign teachers here in China might be expected to or asked to attend as...
Food Culture Festival
Every year in November or December, the university where I teach has a culture festival. International students from all over the world set up booths and sell food that they make to other students and teachers in the university. The fall is usually sunny with blue...
Friends
If you know me, you probably know that I hate goodbyes. But I love to see old friends, and this week, I had one of those wonderful opportunities. A friend from Nepal has been living in the UK, and he stopped by my city for a few hours on his way back home. Even though...
5 Fun Chinese Sentences
On most Wednesdays, I have lunch with a delightful group of people including my friend from America, a colleague from China, her friend who is now my friend from China, and our other colleague from Indonesia. With so many languages and cultures, we tend to have some...
My First Official Chinese Speech
A month or two ago, I heard about a Chinese speech competition. Sure, why not, I can join that! I thought to myself. I signed up by adding someone’s WeChat and learned that I had a month or two to prepare and write the speech which I would then film and submit online....
Embarrassing Teaching Moments
The other day, I was hanging out with some friends that I don’t get to see very often. One friend suggested that we play a game where we all write down a few questions and then we take the questions out and go around and everyone has to answer the questions. Someone...
Dinner at the Cafeteria
I didn’t have any plans for this evening, so after I climbed Baiyun mountain and enjoyed some time thinking and praying and looking at green things, I went to the cafeteria for dumplings. I love the dumpling shop here on campus because you don’t have to choose just...
Japanese Hot Pot: Shabu Shabu
During the Chinese national day, I had a week-long holiday along with most Chinese people, and I decided to go to Japan to visit a friend of mine from college. I spent most of the holiday chatting with my friend and her friends, playing with her adorable kids, and...
Getting to Know My Students
I started working in my current position in the Faculty of English Language and Culture at my university last fall. Every semester, I have between 100 and 200 hundred new students. Over just three semesters, that’s already a lot of new students, and learning all of...