Clear and Bright Weekend

April 25, 2014June 6, 20162 Comments

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

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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Xi’an- The Ancient Place

March 8, 2014June 3, 20163 Comments

Location: Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China
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The only location we visited that could tell you more about the history of China in one glance than Beijing is Xi’an. We only spent 3 days here, and they flew by. Though it is large, the city of 9 million seems almost quaint in comparison to the other megalopolises, and the people were kind as well as knowledgable about the immense amount of artifacts contained within the city’s walls.

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Beijing- The Forbidden City

March 1, 2014June 3, 20161 Comment

Location: Peking, Beijing Municipality, China

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How can you describe a city that’s–by all accounts–the face of one of the largest countries in the world and one of the oldest continuous capitals? Beijing is a place of many paradoxes, of rapid growth and intense political power, but also reminders of the way things used to be. It’s three thousand years old and has seen all kinds of changes, both backwards and forwards. It has opulent palaces and historical edifices that are legendary across the world, but also is one of the most modern cities in China.

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Harbin-City of Ice

February 21, 2014June 3, 20164 Comments

Location: Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China

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Despite being the first city in our series of travels, we knew the least about Harbin. I added it to our itinerary after reading an article claiming the city as a can’t-miss spot for winter tourism in China and the host of the greatest winter festival in the entire world. Those are such bold words, it was just too tempting not to see it with my own eyes. After looking at photographs online, and discovering that this life-size frozen playground was only available from January 5-February 5 annually, I became obsessed. This would be our only chance. You can judge by our pictures below, but it’s safe to say, the city did not disappoint.

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Year of the Horse 2014

January 31, 2014June 6, 20162 Comments

Location: Jian’ou, Fujian Province, China

Spring Festival has begun in China. As you know, the commencement of this is marked by a celebration of the lunar New Year- beginning on the 31st of January and ending of the 18th of February, 2015. According to the Chinese Zodiac or Shēngxiào (“birth likeness”), we are ending the Year of the Snake and entering the Year of the Horse. The twelve year cycle of animals is said to influence the lives of the individuals born under the various signs. I myself was born in a Horse year. Now, I’m not superstitious, but for others in a similar position (1966, 1978, 1990, or 2002) who may be curious, it is said that our fortune will be mixed. Financial independence is fairly certain (so we should say goodbye to student loan debt! huzzah!) and we will form a great many new relationships (hopefully quality ones), but we should be wary of health problems. We also should strive to work on time management and stave off unproductiveness and impatience. Honestly, I could see these predictions being fairly accurate.

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School Rules

January 12, 2014June 6, 2016Leave a comment

Location: Jian’ou No. 1 Middle School, Fujian Province, China

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Since we just finished giving our students their final exams, we thought we would talk a bit about what it is like to teach and learn here in China. We have been fortunate enough to meet and befriend another English teacher in our area. Her name is Suvien and she has been begging us to come see her at work for months. We finally did, thus had the ability to see what schools other than ours are like.

One of our favorite things are the uniforms. Children under the age of eight are required to wear yellow hat/red kerchief combos. They look like members of some sort of scouting troop. It’s interesting because every young student has the same color scheme, regardless of which school they attend. We assume that the name of their school is printed on the brim of their hat but, since we’re illiterate, we can’t tell for certain. It looks a little like Madeline, except the lines the children stand in are longer.

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Sports and Scares

November 5, 2013June 7, 2016Leave a comment

Location: Jian’ou No. 1 Middle School, Fujian Province, China

We are finally healthy. Just in time for the annual school “sports meeting,” what all of our hosts call field day and a cultural festival rolled into one. Something we’ve never experienced. We threw ourselves into the activities, judging an English recitation/singing contest, watching our students run, and playing games like aeroplane chess (like ‘Sorry!’ but life-sized).

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Dinner and a Show

October 20, 2013June 7, 2016Leave a comment

Location: Jian’ou, Fujian Province, China

As you may know, this month has been a bit trying on our ability to adjust to life in China. K has been really struggling physically with illness and, more recently, dental troubles (Chinese root canal is half over!). We are confident that this is the last hurdle and that things will be blissfully uneventful for the rest of the autumn season

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Wuyi Mountain

October 5, 2013June 6, 20165 Comments

Location: Wuyi Mountain, Fujian Province, China

In the midst of all of America’s crippling debt, furloughs, and government shutdowns, we’ve been sitting pretty in China. It was National Day this week, which means that the entire country has seven days to ‘play’ (in the parlance of Davi and our other Chinese friends). That means going to all of the global world heritage sites on the other side of the country that you may not have a chance to see any other time of year. It also means people. Lots of people.

Imagine the Fourth of July, and all of its inherent craziness. Binge drinking, people commuting across country to see relatives, and the like. Also imagine that America is three times larger. Finally, imagine that Americans have no concept of personal space and no restrictions as to how many people can be crammed into a bus, train, or can attend a tourist attraction at once. That was what our week was like.

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Ni Hao, Bo Yao!

September 1, 2013June 7, 20165 Comments

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

Well, we’re settling in here. School begins tomorrow, and we’re up to our knees in lesson plans, so we thought we’d bring you a brief synopsis of what this move to the Middle Kingdom has been like thus far. We’ve seen some pretty unique, terrifying and humbling things. This place hums with people, and resonates with the sound of car horns.