Tag: english teacher

Kampuchea

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Location: Angkor Wat, Kingdom of Cambodia

Even though it’s been a few months, our memory of Cambodia has yet to fade. The other young people we met at the hostel were kind, generous with their time, and great to talk to. They were some of the first people we spoke to in English after leaving China, and our eagerness to make friends showed. But our experience there wasn’t just about cheap beer, swimming pools, and markets.

Cambodia is home to the Angkor temple complex, an astounding relic known the world over. One can easily spend a week going from ruin to ruin and seeing the testament to human engineering and spirituality. People make pilgrimages to the place for good reason, especially Angkor Wat.

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Phuket- Life’s A Beach

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Location: Patong; Kr’abi; Pranang Island; and Poda Island, Thailand

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As it is the first day of Autumn, I can think of no more perfect a time to reminisce about a place that I can only describe as a kind of perpetual summer paradise. Phuket, Thailand is a location for a specific type of vacation person. In my experience there are at least two different types: those who enjoy a lot of sightseeing and movement and those who just want a little R&R. K and I were skeptical before venturing to the Thai seacoast because we tend to be in the former group. If there aren’t a lot of things to “do” in a place, why go? We were even more skeptical when we heard a lot of people in hostel describe Phuket as the “Cancun of Thailand” (not to knock those who like Cancun). That is to say- Phuket has a bit of a reputation for being the non-authentic Thailand that caters strictly to tourists, has dirty overcrowded beaches, is filled with overpriced resorts, and swarming with scam-artists keen on taking your money.

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Hello, Toyko

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As you know, V and I have been very busy these past weeks. We have left our post in China and moved to other points west, finally settling down in familiar Columbus, Ohio. And as I am sure you have assumed, dear readers, I’ve taken some time to put together a few videos from our time in Southeast Asia. I’m still solidifying the projects, but each of them provides a brief window into our experiences. We saw some crazy, amazing, beautiful things, and I’m really excited to share all of it with you.

However, we’re going to try this a little bit different. Instead of doing the video sequences in the order of our travels, I won’t. These ones are a little more poetic and a bit more varied than the previous ones. As a result, I’ll just release them as they’re done. Maybe they’re short, or long, or about a brick in the wall of a monastery, or an entire city in macrocosm.

I’m also working out a documentary. I’m not entirely sure if it will come to fruition, but I’m scripting it a little bit now. It’s going to focus exclusively on our China experience. Stay tuned.

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China 101: City Speak

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Chinese. Living here, we’re steeped in it daily. We’ve delved into some of the differences in previous posts, and even tried to teach you some words. But now, I’m going to drop some linguistics on you.

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Nearly 80% of the world’s population speaks 1% of existent languages (see National Geographic’s project here). That’s a huge disparity. China, though it seems to be one massive Eastern hegemon sometimes, is actually made up of an incalculable number of subgroups that are riffs on the same theme. What is known globally as the Chinese language–Mandarin (普通话, Pǔtōnghuà)–is one distinct coloration of what it means to be a Chinese speaker.

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China 101: Street Food

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In China, there are quite a few options if you like street food. Vendors will lineup anywhere and everywhere selling wares like fresh fruit, quail eggs, red bean cakes, roasted meat on skewers, seafood soup, corn on the cob, sticky pork buns, bamboo dumplings, and our local specialty in Jian’ou- Guǎng bīng (广兵)- little rounds of unleavened bread that taste a bit like Saltine crackers. Some street food is more intimidating like live eel or connective duck tissue for barbecuing, and seem a little barbaric to our Western sensibilities about hygiene. However, trying these delicacies is usually the best way to sample the authentic local flavor.

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Clear and Bright Weekend

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Location: Jiuqu River, Wuyi Mountain, Fujian Province, China

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You may not know this about me, dear reader, but I consider myself to be a woman of inherent paradoxes. One of these paradoxes, thankfully, K and I share. Despite my intense love for adventure and the way in which I passionately seek encounters with new places, people and ideas; I absolutely hate surprises. Now I admit, a little spontaneity can be good for the soul. I’m not saying a weekend getaway or an unexpected gift can’t be pleasant every now and again. However, I am a person who largely wants to have some semblance of knowledge about how she will be spending her days. Will I be climbing mountains, visiting ancient temples, trekking through forests, or sitting in front of my T.V. binge watching episodes of Game of Thrones? Do I need to buy popcorn or pack an overnight bag with hiking gear and galoshes? I simply want to be prepared.

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China 101: Taking the Train

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Taking the train in China is serious business. Especially during the holidays, they are often jam packed with weary travelers. However, they can also be one of the most fascinating ways to transport you on your voyage. You can see a great deal of China’s incredibly vast landscape through the massive train windows. While on our latest adventure, we took many different types of trains (soft sleepers, hard sleepers, sitting, standing, etc.), as well as the high-speed train from Xi’an to Shanghai. We took these trains through many different types of climates, from frigid Harbin to sub-tropical Fuzhou. K made this video to give you a quick sneak peak into our experiences!

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China Surprises

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Location: Fuzhou and Jian’ou, Fujian Province, China edit3

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This past week was a truly wonderful week for K and I in China. We had the opportunity to travel to Fuzhou, and we were greeted with two marvelous surprises while on our journey. One was the arrival of some of our closest friends to the country. The other was that we were nominated for the Liebster award from another blogger in the WordPress community (wanderinfish.com– check him out!). As we had originally established this blog only as a means of further communication with friends and family back home, we are thrilled at how much positive support and feedback we have received through this platform, and are greatly considering expanding and diversifying our efforts.

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