by Alison | Jun 17, 2026 | Blog, Just Life, Travels
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...
by Alison | Jun 10, 2026 | Blog, Just Life, Travels
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...
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 | Mar 4, 2026 | Blog, Travels
My roommate has now spent three months (altogether) living in Vietnam with her friend’s family, and while she enjoys some of the food, her biggest struggle during that time was the food. For that reason, I had low expectations about the food as I prepared to go visit...
by Alison | Feb 17, 2026 | Blog, Just Life, Travels
When I used to teach IELTS speaking or just regular spoken English classes, I liked to have a travel lesson, and one of the questions I often asked the students (usually as a warm-up or introduction) was: How do you like to travel? With family, with a friend, with...
