by Alison | Jun 3, 2026 | Blog, Just Life
This semester, I had a dream come true—a good dream! During my first year teaching in China, more than a decade ago (Yikes! It feels weird to say that!), I taught spoken English for English majors. I loved it. We had lots of fun practicing random role plays and...
by Alison | May 27, 2026 | Blog, Chinese Language and Culture, Just Life
In the Chinese literature class that I’ve been auditing, we spent several weeks looking at Tang and Song Dynasty poetry. I never imagined that I would enjoy poetry from these periods. I can barely understand English poetry unless someone explains it to me, but the...
by Alison | May 20, 2026 | Blog, Chinese Language and Culture, Travels
I may have mentioned before that I really enjoy hot pot. China has many different flavors of hot pot. Different areas often have their own specialties. Sichuan and Chongqing hot pots are both spicy but with different degrees of spiciness and with different...
by Alison | May 13, 2026 | Blog, Just Life
Students and colleagues and friends often ask me where to find good American food in Guangzhou, and this post is my response to all of them. I love Chinese food, but sometimes it’s nice to just have a good burrito or a nice hamburger (contrary to popular opinion...
by Alison | May 6, 2026 | Blog, Chinese Language and Culture, Just Life
Since I live in Guangzhou (in the Canton area), I have plenty of chances to listen to Cantonese Opera when I’m walking through a park. However, since the music is everywhere, I didn’t realize how often I had heard it until I watched a small Cantonese opera show in the...
