Hi Family and Friends of Kate ( Read more... )

The past three days have seemed like weeks. So far, I love being in Beijing ( Read more... )

Welcome to the blog which, I hope, will keep interested family and friends informed without spamming people with emails. I am packed (and now will begin unpacking so I "make weight" with my suitcases), have a visa, and have eaten, as my mom calls it "my Last Supper" (shrimp, spinach, artichoke and alfredo pizza and a giant ice cream sundae), I am ( Read more... )

New experiences are one of the surest ways to meet new people. I attended a 4th of July party at the home of Marjorie, a friend of my mother's. I also met Marjorie's husband's parents, Joyce and Bill. Joyce and Bill have acquaintances whose daughter and son-in-law, Katie and Eric, have lived in Beijing for two years because Eric is an architect ( Read more... )

The medical stuff is in, and we have plane tickets to San Francisco, and then to Beijing! Now we just wait for the work permits...

I've started a packing list. If you were living abroad for one year and could only bring two suitcases, what (non-clothes/toiletry) item would you make room for?

In order to apply for my visa to work and live in China,I need to obtain a Visa Notification and a Work Permit for Aliens (doo doo doo doo do doooooo [that was X-Files music, clearly]) from my employer. In order to do that, my employer needs my Physical Exam for Foreigner form. This form requires at least one visit to a general practitioner, a ( Read more... )

Having closed the achievement gap in the US, I've decided to move forward and do the same for a developing nation ( Read more... )

Day 2 of inservice plodded along today. It's nice being back at school and with my friends. My new classroom is pretty and big and is becoming more colorful. I have an extreme aversion to the free posters that my department gives me. Anyone else's rule posters or posters on parts of the flower or "student rights and expectations" just seem so ( Read more... )

A lot has occured since June 3. On June 5, my roommate Jenny and our friend Aaron embarked on what I will, at this point in my life, consider "The Roadtrip of a Lifetime." But I now believe that just one roadtrip is not enough for one lifetime. I already have wanderlust, but taking a long roadtrip has escalated that into what I will call " ( Read more... )

I suppose I could make an infinite list of what I've learned this year. My students' list of what they learned about biology or chemistry will probably be quite a bit more finite. Who am I doing this for? I'm not entirely sure. While some would lead me to believe that doing it for anyone but "the children" goes against "The Mission," I disagree ( Read more... )