I just found out that my friend Effy received high marks on her IELTS Exam. She and I spent 2 hours each week for 3 weeks working to help her prepare for this important exam. It is one of the exams that students here take to demonstrate their English proficiency ( or lack thereof. Ha! […]

June 10 , 2009. Well, this story begins with quite a scare and ends with a comforting feeling and an appreciation for the people of Changsha. I arrived in Changsha at 9 AM this morning expecting to be picked up by my “friend” (let’s just call her “Suzy”). I met her on an online dating site […]

I am writing this “Prequel” from notebook entries I kept during my early days in Changsha and from memory. After setting the story, I will begin daily blogs featuring current experiences ( and yes, even after being here for a year and a half, I still see things that continue to amaze me). At the present […]