11.3

Reading electronic book by candlelight.

Add to the list of things that you could never, ever be prepared for: Bug swarm in the middle of class.

10.12

The chicken being kept in our hallway starts making a ruckus.

Vacation Diaries, Xishuangbanna, 10.6

Just a few of the delicious things I ate in Xishuangbanna.

Vacation Diaries, Xishuangbanna, 10.3

Secret Waterfall

Vacation Diaries, Xishuangbanna, 10.2

Cabby takes us to a sketchy part of Jinghong. We rollerskate.

Vacation Diaries, Xishuangbanna, 10.2

The Chinese version of Thailand

Vacation Diaries, Xishuangbanna, 10.1

The first of what I expect will be many incredulously long bus rides.

9.31

View of Maolan from above.

9.24

Welcome back to the countryside! Man with torch chars some cow parts.

Vacation Diaries, Dali, 9.23

Bicycling through fields outside of Dali.

Vacation Diaries, Dali, 9.22

Foreigner's Street in Dali

9.20

Students conspire to collect 10 gold cards and win an ice cream.

9.19

Contents of stomach on ride back to Maolan. Does not mix well.

10.14 Reading Comprehension, Provincial English Exam

A large part of the Chinese education system is based around state-wide entrance examinations, as there simply aren't enough teachers or schools for all of the students in China to receive an education past middle school. For the most part, these tests horribly overestimate how much English students can learn in 3 years. To demonstrate, here is a rather silly essay that accompanied the 2010 high school entrance exam.

"Most western people like to invite friends to their parties. If you are invited, what should you do?

You should pay attention to your clothes. There are some special requests (要求) for some parties, such as a fancy ball (化妆舞会) and a banquet.

You should dress yourself according to different parties. If you take part in a birthday party or an at-home party, you needn't wear special clothes, but you must keep your clothes clean and tidy. Don't wear pants or vests.

9.18

Finding a balance- Immediately after hiking Flag Mtn., we eat a chicken sandwich at McconKey's.

9.16

Boy, the conversation around here sure is stale!

9.11

"Who lives behind these curtains?" The Yunnan Education Bureau pays our apartment a visit

9.10

Some Teacher's Day arithmetic

9.9 (A Teacher's Day Special)

Celebrate Teacher's Day with your favorite local government officials.

Fauna 1

9.7

9.7 This is why I love having Chinese roommates. 

9.6

Holy shit! That's what 68 students looks like.

9.4

Pretty quiet night in Maolan. Sometimes it's nice when nothing weird happens.

9.3

Back from Lincang with some very important purchases: Chinese Camouflage Jacket and a loaf of (中国味道) bread.

9.17 Minutes From an Unnecessary Meeting

(A note to the reader. The Chinese government has a knack for holding extremely long, extremely boring meetings with extremely long, pointless speeches. As a teacher, I am employed by the Chinese government, and am required to attend some of these meetings. The following account was recorded during a weekly staff meeting held on a Friday afternoon. Most of the speeches were in the local dialect or poor Mandarin, so I had to use my imagination for some of the part in this record. All names have been translated into English)

4:17 Mister Teacher opens the proceedings.

4:17:30 (Proceedings not thoroughly opened, brief chaos reigns for 5 minutes)

4:22 An eruption of gurgles and half sentences in thick dialect from Mr. Teacher formally opens the proceedings. An in-depth summary of Yunnan's educational system enthralls the audience of this weekly staff meeting.

8.31

A sport I don't think I'll ever understand. Old men spinning large granite tops.

8.30

Nervous-looking kids and their dads sign in at registration unter the big tree in the courtyard

8.29

Little old ladies at a Buddhist temple after dinner in Maolan.

8.28

Strangely stunned that China has home makeover shows on TV.

8.27

The Shaojie girls arrive, we all make spaghetti.

8.26

First day of cooking at Maolan- at least our handwriting is still good.

8.25

Our bee hive problem and our dinner problem get solved in one fell swoop.

(full story below)

8.24

Watched "The Room" with Lucas and 2 bottles of Lancang Jiang beer.

8.23

A lesson in Sino-American economic relations

8.22

Families keep shops open by candlelight during power outage in Maolan.

8.21.2010

Power and water out in Maolan, returning to Yunxian for a big CEI shindig, feels like going into NYC

8.20.2010

Beautiful ride back from Yunxian with our appliances in the back

8.19.2010 Hospitality!

First day in Maolan- we're told people here don't like strangers. They throw the bodies in the river.

8.18.2010 Deer's Blood Soup

Our principal: Everybody try the deer's blood first!

Return to China

2 Years in rural Yunnan, China begins at roughly 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Here are some details:

1. I'll be teaching English to children (middle school)
2. I'll be working for an organization called China Education Initiative
3. in accompaniment with Princeton in Asia
4. Living/working at Maolan Middle School, near Yunxian, P.R.C.
5. 6 weeks of training in Kunming, China
6. with 59 other teaching fellows (30 Chinese, 30 American)

It's bound to be chock full of antics, adventures, stress, and stories, which I'll hopefully convey as such. At the very least, there will be pictures.