China Culture Shock #1: Eye Exercises

China Culture Shock #1: Eye Exercises

Welcome to my latest series: China Culture Shock! Part of the reason I was interested in moving to China in the first place was to experience a culture completely different from my own. I wanted to experience “culture shock” and challenge myself. I’ve been living in China for almost two years now, and I’m still constantly experiencing things that […]

The End of My Year Teaching in China

The End of My Year Teaching in China

I never thought it would come: my Ameson Year in China has come to an end. Today I packed all my things and shipped out to Shanghai, where I will embark on a trip to the Zhangjiajie “Avatar Mountains” with a friend, and then I’ll spend two weeks solo-traveling through Taiwan. It’s hard to explain […]

Baby Pressure in China

Baby Pressure in China

Young Chinese women are under immense pressure to have a baby the moment they get married. For many, the pressure comes from the grandparents who are only allowed one grandchild under the One Child Policy. Society also plays a role with constant questions and comparisons. I joke that a few of the English teachers at my […]

Overheard in China

Overheard in China

Happy Sunday! In order to procrastinate unpacking, doing laundry and making rosters for my twenty classes, here is a list of funny quotes I’ve heard in China: Suzzy: S: “Owww! I have a blue thing like you on my leg!!”   R: “You mean a bruise?” “It was so cold! It was like 30 F circle […]

What Does the Fox Say?

Since my last post was such a downer, I wanted to provide a quick update, as well as some entertaining videos for you all. I decided to stay at my school for the year. I’ve been slowly working through all of the issues of living in the countryside, and I definitely think things are looking […]

I Guess I’m Not As Cool As I Thought I Was

读万卷书不如行万里路 “Reading ten thousand books is not as useful as traveling ten thousand miles.” -Chinese proverb It has been an interesting few days, but I have safely arrived in Ningbo… kind of. Not to skip the last month of traveling and orientation, but I figured it would be better to talk about my first impressions NOW […]

Glorified English Babysitting

Glorified English Babysitting

Once back from Tianjin, I met up with Will to visit his English school. While teaching English in Xi’an was a giant failure, Will’s school was looking for a morning teacher and I had nothing to do in the mornings while Mark was at work and Will was in class. I met up with Will […]