by Alison | Sep 30, 2025 | Blog, Chinese Language and Culture, Travels
One of the things that I really wanted to do while I was in Chengdu was to go to a panda conservatory and see the pandas. The first time I was in Chengdu for just 16 hours (several years ago), we had time to go to a mall and see the giant fake panda climbing onto the...
by Alison | Sep 23, 2025 | Blog, Just Life
The beginning of the semester is always fun as I meet my new students and run into old students. One thing I’ve noticed now is that as I walk around campus, especially during the times when the students are likely to be out, I almost always run into at least two or...
by Alison | Sep 16, 2025 | Blog, Just Life, Travels
Before traveling to Chengdu, I spent my last morning in Chongqing visiting a park with another view of the city. It was green and beautiful, but by the time I left, it was also very hot. I was hoping Chengdu would be a bit cooler! Stone rope bridge For lunch, I went...
by Alison | Sep 9, 2025 | Blog, Just Life, Travels
I’d never understood the appeal of solo traveling until last summer when I ended up in Hawaii for a couple of days staying with friends of friends but on my own as far as sightseeing was concerned. Since I was in Hawaii for a friend’s wedding, I spent most of the time...
by Alison | Sep 2, 2025 | Blog, Chinese Language and Culture, Travels
Wendy was leaving in the afternoon today, but we still had the morning to explore the city, so we made full use of our time. After our normal breakfast of baozi, a steamed bun filled with pork or vegetables, we headed to the hospital with a staircase to the roof of...