How to Deal with Jet Lag
I love traveling. If you’ve read many of my blog posts, you probably know that. But with traveling comes my arch nemesis: jet lag. Now, I should clarify that this post is not going to give you a lot of tips about how to deal with jet lag. There are lots of resources...
Decluttering
My parents moved suddenly 8 or 9 years ago while I was in China. One of my goals for this summer was to find and finally finish going through all of the things that had been packed up and stored while I was away. Finding boxes of things that haven’t been touched in...
Visiting the Hong Kong Science Museum
I got my flight to America out of Hong Kong, so Kendra and I decided to spend the day in Hong Kong on my way. After lunch at a Hong Kong-style restaurant (which is a mix of Western and Chinese food), we headed to the Hong Kong Science Museum. Some quick facts before I...
Chinese Yao Minority Clothing
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I went to Shaoguan （韶关）, a city in the north of Guangdong province to visit a couple of schools. My university has a cooperation with a couple of schools in the Ruyuan （乳源） area, and I am considering the possibility of going there...
Knowing the Future
“Do you want to know the future?” That’s what I asked the students when we were talking about Macbeth, our last Shakespeare play of the semester. Actually, my specific question was: “Why did Macbeth fall? Did he have a choice, or were his evil actions a result of fate...
Anaya Resort Town in Guangzhou
This last weekend was Dragon Boat Festival, and by this time of the semester, I’m usually ready for a little trip. Several years ago, my roommate and another friend went to Qingdao, and last year, a few friends went to Qingyuan (a town near Guangzhou). I didn’t have...
Fun Hike in Guangzhou
I love hiking, and I’m thankful that Guangzhou has so many places to go hiking. When I need some time alone in nature, I usually go to Baiyun mountain (白云山) because it’s right beside my house. It only takes about 10 minutes to walk to the gate, and I have a delightful...
Georgian (the country) Food in Guangzhou
Last month, at my book club, a friend from Hungary mentioned that there was a nice Georgian (the country in Eastern Europe/Western Asia) restaurant nearby. This month, our friend who is unofficially in charge of choosing the restaurant chose this Georgian restaurant...
Teaching Shakespeare in China
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...
Enjoying Song Dynasty Poetry: Su Dong Po’s Shui Diao Ge Tou
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...