I am not a member of the fashion police, but …   what is the deal with wearing pajamas in public? In smaller cities in China, it is not unusual in the late afternoon or evening, to have folks wear their pajamas around their local neighborhood. However, I am surprised to see to adults, not children, wearing the whole outfit […]

I arrived Shanghai early Thursday evening. I was having a hard time planning what to do, as Shanghai is a huge city with lots of options.  I decided that best approach was a hop-on-hop-off city tour on Friday morning, probably the best way to cover a lot of territory in a relatively short period of time. And […]

This is my last night in Beijing.  It has been fun, but 8 days is plenty … Places to see in and around Beijing The Great Wall – So much has been written and said about the Great Wall, and one thing is certain: a visit to China would not be complete without seeing it. Tiananmen Square – T-Square is […]

If you spend any appreciable amount of time in Asia outside of your hotel room you will at some point probably find yourself faced with the intimidating task of using a squat toilet. Quite a few foreign visitors have a dread of squat toilets, and it can be a bit of a shocker for first-time visitors.  They just take a […]

Today was my lazy day – slept in until noon, took a long (and hot) shower, played around on the computer, read a bit, and finally ventured out into the city around 3.  For the first time in weeks, I have an entire wardrobe of machine-washed, properly-pressed, fresh-smelling clothing.  The housekeeping department at my hotel took […]

Is it fog or smog? I am so tired and sore – I climbed 4 towers of the Great Wall today . (Katie climbed 8!  But she’s a flipping maniac …).   The further you walk, the better it gets, but the climbing is tough!  The steps are tall and extremely uneven and very steep in places.  The worst part […]

Who can resist an invitation like that? Katie (a fellow teacher and buddy from camp) spent a few hours at the Beijing version of Disney, the  Shijingshan Amusement Park .        With its slogan “Disneyland is too far,” Beijing’s Shijingshan Amusement Park features a replica of Cinderella’s Castle, with staff dressed like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and other […]

I set Bob (my clock) to wake me up bright and early so I could accomplish my one necessary task for the day – a visa extension.  Critical at this point, since my current visa expires Saturday.  (!!)  I hop on the #10 bus to the Municipal office, present my documents, only to be told that I need […]

” … your Chinese is quite good!” I laughed out loud when the young man obviously eager to carry on a conversation in English suggested that my command of the Chinese language is anything more than a matter of survival phrases, including ni hao (hello), zai jian (goodbye), xie xie (thanks), wo bu dong (I do not understand), and ce suo zai […]

Does it get any better than that?  WOW! We spent the morning making Halloween masks.  The first part of the afternoon was Christmas in the auditorium, complete with a tree, merry carols, and snow (shredded toilet paper confetti).  Then we ran back to our classrooms to put on our masks and parade through the campus.  Finally, the younger kids went trick-or-treating […]

Today the kids are on a trip to the seashore and most of the foreign teachers have opted to take a day off.  It is too hot here to do much of anything mid-day (currently 107 F / 42 C  and sunny) so I am seeking relief in a coffee house, finishing my lessons plans for the […]

Thanks for visiting my blog and for all the great comments!  I’ll take a few minutes to answer questions. Do I miss milk and cheese?   Yes, definitely.  There is milk (whole milk, goat milk, oat (oat, no g) milk, soy milk, and the aforementioned water buffalo milk) and there is cheese (yak (yucky) cheese, goat cheese, deep fried cheese balls), […]

  It has been a pleasure to visit Singapore for a few days.  The food has been excellent (with few exceptions), the public transportation system is fabulous – I zipped around the island via bus, taxi, train, and on foot with no problem.  Here is a quick summary of the areas I visited: Little India – This modest […]

 Namaste means Hello/Goodbye in Nepali. I am leaving for Bangkok this afternoon.  I have just enought time for a pot of milk tea, drop-off at the 1 hr laundry, and a quick post before I leave for the airport. The reason I came to Nepal was to serve as a volunteer, to teach English and work with […]

We’ve been without electricity most of the day.  Sadly, my favorite German bakery across the street has not able to bake and serve any delicious breads today, but I was still able to enjoy a pot of milk tea on the deck this morning while I waited for the electric to be restored.  Fortunately, I’ve made friends with the guy at the internet cafe […]

   I have returned to Kathmandu after spending just a few days in the village of Ganganagar, a remote area not far from Chitwan National Park. I helped the school children with their English and math homework in the mornings (6:15-8:30) and gathered the village children for basic hygiene and basic English (ABC, 123) in the afternoon. […]

In addition to the normal and interesting, I am in search of the bizarre. Here are my choices for the top three:  The Goddess Tubtirm Shrine , which is dedicated entirely to the male phallus – hundreds of oversized penises of all shapes and sized. Women visit the shrine when they are trying to conceive and return to the shrine […]

Hello all ~ Before I left, I read the books, I read the blogs … but nothing could prepare me for the noise, the pollution, and the heat of Bangkok. As soon as I arrived at the airport, all my senses were on overload. When I arrived at my hotel at 1 am Wednesday, the air temp […]