Military training

YANGZHOU – Sometimes, it really pays to work for a technical college.
Take this morning, for example. If I had been a regular American citizen passing through Yangzhou on holiday, perhaps on my way to Slim West Lake or maybe a bit of shopping on Wenchang Road, I might have been a bit confused (and perhaps, [...]

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1,000 years old, and a block away from a four-story electronics store

The street in this photo has been there for a thousand years, or so the locals tell me.
It used to be part of the city’s main commercial district, back when Yangzhou was one of the richest and most important cities in China. In those days, the salt merchants (who seem to be roughly equivalent to [...]

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Things that just wouldn’t happen at home

The list, of course, is growing.
I’ve already mentioned that college professors sleep in bunk beds here, and that every now and then they might have to miss a class or two to “learn the knowledge of the Communist Party of China.”
But I haven’t told you about the singing.
Singing is a really big [...]

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A very Chinese excuse note

I got a few colorful excuses in Thailand from students who missed my class.
The school-sponsored “Buddhism camp,” which included an overnight stay at a temple, was probably my favorite. It was definitely not the only time I heard that up to half of my class was “at the temple” for the day, or preparing a [...]

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