Tag: EFL

Hello, Dalian! A Totally Impractical Guide to That City up by Korea
November 3, 2011

Hello, Dalian! A Totally Impractical Guide to That City up by Korea

And by impractical, I really mean it this time. I have absolutely no information that might be of use to you here, unless you get sent up for work at the very last minute, as I did, and need to know where you can get …

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14 Notes on teaching English in a Chinese university, in the middle of a quiet burnout and impending unemployment
May 14, 2011

14 Notes on teaching English in a Chinese university, in the middle of a quiet burnout and impending unemployment

1.  Two weeks ago I renewed my gym membership, which I had let lapse about six months ago.     Sometime last Autumn, I had  figured that the five flights of stairs I had to climb 8 or so times a day between classroom and …

30 Comments
Breaking Free: The Karmic Irony Edition
April 30, 2011

Breaking Free: The Karmic Irony Edition

Somewhere out there, Alanis Morrisette’s lawyer is counting the number of times today I have muttered something along the lines of, isn’t it ironic, don’t you think? Somewhat akin to rain on your wedding day, or maybe finding a dozen forks when all you need …

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A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #10: Marie Szamborski of Shantiwallah
April 24, 2011

A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #10: Marie Szamborski of Shantiwallah

Welcome to the esteemed tenth expat interview in my series of a bazillion.  After a brief hiatus from interviews with human expats last week (hello Hector Lakemonster!) I’d like to introduce you to someone who has been with me (and this blog) since it was …

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Notes on the First Anniversary of my 7th Blog
April 18, 2011

Notes on the First Anniversary of my 7th Blog

Origins I started this blog near the end of last April, impulsively, after I read the words ‘ephemera and detritus’ in a comment on a blog I’ve long since lost track of.  Possibly from Salon’s now defunct Broadsheet. Rather than just noting it down and …

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A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #7: Philip Johnson of The Philiad
April 9, 2011

A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #7: Philip Johnson of The Philiad

Welcome to episode 7 in my infinite series of expat interviews. Today I bring you the eloquent and witty Phil of the brilliant Philiad (pa-dum!). Phil lives in Guadalajara, Mexico for now, and rumor has it he’ll be heading of to NYU come September to …

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3 Short Scenes from the Chinese Classroom: Why I Probably Can Never Go Home Again
April 1, 2011

3 Short Scenes from the Chinese Classroom: Why I Probably Can Never Go Home Again

Scene 1.   ‘Happy April Fish Day, teacher!’ My students are knee deep in plastic snack-sized dried fish wrappers. It’s April 1st. There’s a huge grocery bag three quarters full of unopened dried fish packets under one of the rows of desks. It was a …

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The Chinese Christmas Party Post! (Part 2)
January 2, 2011

The Chinese Christmas Party Post! (Part 2)

Remember how my students organized a Christmas party in a tea house at the side of an eight lane ring road, under the shadow of a spider’s web worth of overpasses? Where I feasted on *sigh* everything that features heavily in my almost-but-not-quite worst nightmares? …

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My Students Gave Me Stuff for Christmas!
December 26, 2010

My Students Gave Me Stuff for Christmas!

This is going to be a very short post. I just wanted to show you my haul for this year, from my students. First, the big one:   And then two smaller gifts combined:     And finally, the slightly crumpled gourd-y ornament:     …

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Chinese University Students on Love, Lust, Dating and Marriage
December 13, 2010

Chinese University Students on Love, Lust, Dating and Marriage

ETA December 14: Now with more love, lust and dating! Added quotes! Part 1 in the series (Helpful Household Hints) was here I originally typed this up sometime last week, back when I still had the energy and wasn’t consumed by a great big ol’ …

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