Nihao, Hivers! It has been so long since my last post in this wonderful community. I kind of miss it, I must admit. Many things have happened, and I was in a bit of a life transition-specifically on the

This is a short narrative of how I started my journey from being a Deped teacher to a J1 exchange teacher in the U.S.

Today, Indonesia is celebrating its Teachers' Day. For the occasion, our Art teacher assigned the students to create digital art of the teachers' portraits. And to my surprise, I got this beautiful artwork

Joan Xie Qiong and her uncle last month I have already reported about my friend’s leukemia diagnosis and treatment here. Her chemo has progressed well, but now there are signs cancer has spread to her

Pronounce contractions correctly you will. It's been a while since I posted a puzzler, because, well, classes started last month. Plus, I am now an administrator, so my days are pretty full. But enough

So far, I have only discussed common errors in spelling and usage. Here's a pronunciation puzzler. Puzzler #10: Why do some students add an extra “uh” to the end of words that don’t require it, while other

Cover of Sister Sledge single (1984 remix of "We Are Family" and "My Guy/Canadian Sunset", Cotillion label, Germany) Puzzler #9: Why do Chinese students think they have more than one

YouDao Cidian does a poor job translating "back" Puzzler #8: Why do students misuse the adverb "back?" Another common student mistake is the improper use of “back” as a free-standing

Cover for Roberta Flack's 1980 UK album, featuring "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" Puzzler #7: Once and ever So far I've discussed confusion among Chinese students about he and she, how

Puzzler #6: Why do Chinese like to take “vocations”? Now that it's the summer holiday for students and teachers (Yay!), let’s talk about another pair of commonly confused words here in China – and maybe

Source: Pixabay - CC0 Creative Commons license The idea for these articles came to me during this past winter holiday, as I was reflecting on beginning my tenth year teaching English in China. In that

The library of Henan University of Technology in Zhengzhou ZHENGZHOU, HENAN, CHINA -- Hello, Steemians! It's been two months since I posted anything here, so an update is long overdue. First of all, I

One of the long-awaited Chinese verification seals Yesterday, I received the second of two document authentications from the Chinese consulates. So, my long wait for a new Chinese work visa is nearly over.

The latest in a series of authentications I need to get a Chinese work visa FedEx today brought me another step closer to obtaining my new work visa to teach English in China. This is the authentication

Another step toward a new work visa from China Yesterday the postal carrier delivered authentications from the Kentucky Secretary of State's office. Today I popped them in the mail for their last seal

Decorations are a mess, but the taste was great! On Friday, I told my freshmen that I would not be returning next term to teach them English. By way of explanation, I explained that I was now 61, and Hunan

They're not the only ones leaving Jishou University Graduating class of 2017, College of International Exchange, Jishou University It's been graduation week here, so blogging about my sudden job hunt was

Lion dancers, Hong Kong. February 2017 (Photo by author) Just a quick update, since I'm pretty blitzed from two intensive work days. I've had more encouraging news about my job prospects I can share here.

Part of the park in Zhijiang commemorating the Japanese surrender in 1945 Zhijiang is near Huaihua, about 90 minutes from where I live Today I had Oral English classes with the sophomores, one section

Chinese tourists pose for photos in Fenghuang Ancient City Yesterday I wrote about my dismay at learning I could no longer work in China because I am too old at 61. This post is perhaps the beginning of