Welcome!
(a note for first-time readers)

This blog chronicles my year spent teaching English at the Tibetan College of Shijiazhuang, Hebei, People's Republic of China. That's pretty self-explanatory, right? Well, just in case it's not, I'll go into a bit more detail... My senior year of college was winding to a close and I'd neglected to do anything in the way of preparing for admissions to a graduate program. Oops! I needed something to do with myself because I most certainly would've gone crazy living at home with my family. During my Contemporary Chinese Society class, we had a brief presentation about Drake's CCEP.And that's how I got tricked into going to China...er, that's how I learned about a Chinese Cultural Exchange Program. I could teach for a year in China, I would be reimbursed for my round-trip airfare, and I'd receive a monthly salary. It seemed to be a better alternative than living in my parent's house, so I signed up. So if you're remotely interested in reading further about my year of hijinks, exploits, and occasional fabulous (mis)adventures, I suggest you start at the beginning of the blog, which dates back to August of 2006.

Welcome Back!
(a note for returning visitors)

Well, it's been fun, and the blog is 97% finished . I'm finally settled back into life in the US. I have two jobs, each interesting in their own right. I found the pounds I lost in China. I'm earning more than $350 USD a month, although it doesn't seem to go nearly as far as my salary did in China. I could continue the blog by dishing out all the latest work gossip and relaying all the ridiculous things my coworkers do... But since all my colleagues are now English-speakers, I run a much higher risk of them finding out. Alas, the writing of my blog is 'fini.' The pictures are a different story. My battered white iBook, replete with daisy and unicorn stickers, is stuck in the repair shop. So, as soon as my new hard drive is installed, I shall add a multitude of photos to further embellish my already fantabulous posts. For now, just click on the My Photos link for your viewing pleasure. With all the writing taken care of, and the photos well on their way, it seems that I'm out of things to do...

And with that, I bid you goodnight.