After breakfast, the boat crew told us that we needed to be off the ship by 8:30 a.m.! Not much time for a relaxing morning today. Ruby and I packed up and headed out. Since I am traveling for 3 weeks, I have a big suitcase, and as soon as we checked out, an older man...
On our last day on the cruise ship, Ruby and I decided to join a full day activity that cost a little extra. I pushed for it a bit more because I really wanted to explore the area a bit more. I didn’t actually completely understand what the activity was about, but it...
I’m not sure how I missed the fact that the main attraction of the cruise we took was not the Three Gorges Dam but the Three Gorges. And I’m glad I didn’t realize how incredibly beautiful it would be because I loved the surprise! The most famous part of the trip was...
I love playing games, and Mahjong is no exception. During my first year in China, two of my students approached my friend Megan, and me. “You guys have to learn how to play Mahjong, and we will teach you.” “Ok, sure!” Our first year in China, Megan and I were almost...
When I went to the gate of the school to pick up my food delivery, I noticed the beautiful bougainvillea by the river, and I paused to take a picture. The bougainvillea have been blooming for several weeks now, and I love it. Most of the ones on campus are pink, and...
For the past couple of weeks, I have been working on getting rid of things in my apartment that I don’t need. I have so much stuff, and I have a hard time getting rid of things that someone gave to me. But do I really need to keep something just because someone that I...
Last week, I translated a speech for a friend of mine and then interpreted the speech in a live situation. I am definitely not the best translator or interpreter that I know, and I felt like a bit of a fraud standing in front of everyone and trying to translate...
The other day, I had dinner with my friend in such an interesting village in the middle of the city, that I would love to tell you about it. In China, and it seems like especially in Guangzhou, there are lots of villages in the city. Guangzhou is changing a lot, and...
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...
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...