Day 1: Our overnight flight to Europe went pretty well overall. The long layover in Philly wasn't even that bad. When we were boarding the plane, I started chit-chatting with a guy from Philly, and I told him the only association I have with Philly is the The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He laughed and then we both started rapping the theme song: "In West Philadelphia born and raised, On the playground where I spent most of my days; Chilling out, maxing, relaxing or...

Where is Tibet? This might seem like an easy question, but after much research, it isn't as simple as it might seem. When you look at a map, you might point to Tibet and say, "There’s Tibet. It is bordered by India, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, East Turkestan, and China." That area is only a small section of Tibet though. According to the International Tibet Network, “When Tibetans refer to 'Tibet’ they are talking about the entity comprising the three...

5-19 Everything went smoothly today. I got up, took the #28 bus to the bus station and waited for Nikki (a student teacher at my school) to show up. Like most Chinese people, she showed up over 20 minutes late. You think I would learn that meeting at 8 am really means 8:30. I stood there and waited while person after person kept on trying to talk me into taking their bus, bike, van, or back to Leshan. I have gotten to where I stare blankly in front of me and don...

4-23 I am going to go on a field trip with all of my students tomorrow. Let's hope I can survive the chaos. I am actually really excited. I was told I didn't have to go, but I really want to!!! What? I want to go to work? Um...yeah, not like me I know, but I look at it as a free tour of China. They are going to take us to an ancient town called Luodai that is about 45 minutes away. According to the HELLO Chengdu Magazine, the ancient town dates back thousands of...

3-29 I just had the most amazing meal--a bowl of mixed veggies in a very hot, tangy sauce. This of course came with a side of white sticky rice. Jessie then taught me some basic phrases in Chinese, so I can order food for myself better and also so I don't always have to get noodles. I told her I needed to limit my noodle consumption because eating them every day will make me fat. She is such a lovely person. I feel so blessed to have her in my life. Teaching ...