At some point during my sophomore year at NYU, I became obsessed with the idea of teaching English in China. My obsession started after taking two history courses -- one about modern Chinese history, the other about imperialism and colonialism in Asia. For a while (especially after the SARS scare) I thought about teaching in other Asian countries that interest me -- Nepal, Vietnam and Thailand. But in July 2003, I finally made the decision to move to Hangzhou, China and teach at Zhejiang University of Technology.

I came here without any knowledge of the Chinese language, but hoped to learn some as the year rolled by. After a semester of blindly attempting to learn Chinese on my own and with the help of a student at my university, I finally hired a tutor with teaching experience and a huge arsenal of textbooks. My reading and speaking skills have improved in the last couple of months, but the more I learn, the more I realize that I don't know Chinese at all.

I also came to China with the intention of doing more of my own personal writing. I spent most of my time as an undergraduate doing journalism internships and spent one year as a reporter and copy editor in Truckee and South Lake Tahoe, Calif. During that year I wrote about all sorts of things -- I covered a mass fish murder at the local pet shop, town council elections, rural land-use issues, marijuana busts and goings on at the local sanitary district -- but I had little time to write for myself. Teaching full-time in China (what would actually be less than part time in America), has given me plenty of time to pursue writing, studying Chinese and a couple of other hobbies I've picked up.

I've been here for eight months now and plan to return home this summer. It seems a little late in the game to start a blog, but I hope this site will not only serve as a place for me to communicate with my friends and family, but also a place where people can get information about teaching in China -- and all the joys and frustrations that can come with the experience.

As I wrap up the year, I plan to spend about a month and a half to two months traveling around northern and western China. My itinerary remains flexible but it looks like I will be heading to Gansu and Xinjiang provinces, and Beijing. For about a month a very special person, Rick Gunn, will be joining me to take part in this adventure. He is a travel photographer, so we should have some interesting stories and images to share with you.