Tag: Mandarin

Dear Language, I Guess I’m Just Not That Into You: Notes on Being the Worst Student Ever
November 12, 2012

Dear Language, I Guess I’m Just Not That Into You: Notes on Being the Worst Student Ever

I’ve got a cold and I’m cranky. With my hot, cotton-wool stuffed head expanding outward through my eye sockets and nasal cavity, and my sad little lips fever burnt and ever so slightly frowny, I’m coasting on barely 3 hours of restless sleep. I thought …

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Things You’re Not Allowed to do in Canada: A Photo Essay
July 10, 2012

Things You’re Not Allowed to do in Canada: A Photo Essay

A few years back, I read an article about an expat who lived in Greece until he became so fluent in Greek that he understood everything that was going on around him, everything that was being said. Then he had to leave. What he had …

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A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #6: Fiona Reilly of Life on Nanchang Lu
April 4, 2011

A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #6: Fiona Reilly of Life on Nanchang Lu

Welcome to the sixth interview in my infinite series of one sided conversations with expats (and ex-expats) all over the world. I started this series partly out of curiosity and partly out of a need for me to know I wasn’t alone in having mixed …

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Huh? Efendim? Ting Bu Dong: Opening Your Door to People You Can’t Understand
September 6, 2010

Huh? Efendim? Ting Bu Dong: Opening Your Door to People You Can’t Understand

In Istanbul, at the last flat I lived in before we left Turkey in 2008, my upstairs neighbour- a middle-aged woman in a house dress and slippers- used to ring my doorbell repeatedly at all hours. If I was in the shower, she’d keep ringing …

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Do As I Say, Not As I Do: On Learning Chinese/ Teaching English
August 29, 2010

Do As I Say, Not As I Do: On Learning Chinese/ Teaching English

I’ve been told I’m a good teacher. I’ve been teaching English for nearly a decade now and know how to nurture a reluctant super-low beginner out of their speechless shell and into proud conversations in English. I’ve taught study skills using write synonym sheets and …

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On Language Burnout After a few too Many Countries
August 26, 2010

On Language Burnout After a few too Many Countries

It’s a funny thing starting an expat/travel blog sixteen years after you started travelling/living elsewhere and failed to do anything else with your adult life except, well, travel and be an expat. For one, you’re not as freshly enthusiastic as those who are venturing out …

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