i'm really not doing that bad here. it's merely a rut, and it was bound to happen. there are tons of people in my program who feel the same way, that emotionally we're just a little stuck. it's nice talking to them because they understand the weird stares, the language barrier, the struggle to "get it" here ( Read more... )

i just realized that there isn't a point to me being in china anymore. (embrace this cliche) the biggest reason i came here was to get in touch with my roots. my people, if you will. but the chinese have made it clear as wahaha water that i'm not one of them no matter how much i look it. so until america can get over its fat headed ignorance ( Read more... )

things are unfolding as so ( Read more... )

i'd like to think i'm a pretty relatable person, that people find it easy to befriend me. i know i've forgiven more people than i'd like to remember who have just turned around to punch me in the gut again. but i don't like being bitter ( Read more... )

mmm, so it looks like i've been tagged to do this so here goes ( Read more... )

family history week! my mom came to visit last thursday, and it was so nice having her here. we went to hangzhou on friday and hit all the normal tourist sites while we were there. we even went to zhejiang university where my grandfather went to school. he eventually became the chief engineer under chiang kai shek, so i found it amusing that ( Read more... )

i just got back from a dinner and introductory teaching session at a local company here in changshu. they design and sell car interiors for vw and audi. they want to pay us 200 kuai per hour to teach their employees english! that's a little over $20/hour, but i get my bike fixed for 12 cents here. i'm very very excited to teach people who ( Read more... )

ha, that diet lasted about half a day. but i found cheese! all is well now.

you know how i'm always complaining about how skinny i am and how i want to get fatter? well, because cheese is a rare find in china (sucks to be lactose tolerant in a lactose intolerant society), i've been gorging on cookies and ice cream every day. and now i'm finding that my pants have become a wee bit more snug. so all the "i want to be ( Read more... )

i'll never hold you back ( Read more... )