As seems to happen when the year runs out, time moves faster and faster. Myself and the other foreign teachers all realize how little time is left here, in Shenzhen, and the pressure builds to get out, to see the city, hang out together. Unfortunately it has been incredibly humid and hot the past month,… Read More Marathon Karaoke
It’s hit the doldrums point, when each week of lesson planning looms angrily. The weather is heating up, and my aircon has been running far, far more the past week than at any time prior. The mosquito net is up in my room, lending an enchanted castle vibe that was sorely lacking. All in all,… Read More Springtime Shenanigans
Fate can play cruel little tricks, sending blessings one way and sorrow another. For my students, this meant 3 days of midterm examinations last week. For me, quite the opposite, as I was sprung free for those same days. Combined with the weekend and the power of night trains, I found myself with 5 consecutive… Read More Spring in a Small Town
My position was between the family occupying the sink and the young lady in the pink sweater, my back to the one of the bathrooms. This would later prove a poor decision, as it is a high-traffic area on an oversold night train with a growing odor with each passing hour. The Qing Ming Festival,… Read More Hakka Tulou, Amoy Islet
A couple weeks back I had, as alluded to in the last post, a visitor from the States, my ever upbeat friend Susanna, came to stay with me in Shenzhen for a week. Counting my time traveling with Tori last summer, this made for a grand total of 2 visitors in my time here, a… Read More Eight Days a Week
Having a had a couple weeks now to acclimate myself to Shenzhen once more, I find myself increasingly comfortable in my new version of my old life. As regards to my school, I’ve already detailed the good parts of the apartment. When it comes to the classrooms, the luxury factor is not so evident. Like… Read More Back With the Streets I Know
For those who were unaware, the past six months or so have been a bit of a challenge. Work has been hard to come by, especially as someone looking for entry-level type work without the benefit of experience. My savings have been steadily depleted, leaving me with stress and worries. It seemed that ever since… Read More New Day Rising
So after repeated requests from my mom and brother, I find myself writing an entry in this blog from an internet cafe in Saigon. Let me just warn you: 1. The appeal of being a blogger has always been lost on me. 2. I don’t do well sitting at a computer for long stretches of… Read More I’m not feeling clever and Zak would just make fun of me anyway
The last few days have seen me exploring parts of Shandong Province, which may be most famous for its Tsingtao Beer, but alas I did not make it out to the port city of Qingdao where it is brewed. Instead I had to settle for drinking it in Tai’an, a city set at the base… Read More Stairway to Heaven
I am seated at an internet bar in the former Chinese dynasty capital of Kaifeng, which was the home of long-running series of dynasties up to about a thousand years ago. The legacy of this is mostly seen in a few very old remnants laying about town, such as pagodas, a couple gardens, and some… Read More Oh, the Congestion
Zak Abroad 