In preparation for the big military parade in Beijing on October 1, thousands of PLA troops have been practicing and drilling for months (maybe years). The photo below is taken at one of the training bases near Beijing. The sign on the wall is in classic Communist literary style–a four part slogan in exact parallel…
Month: September 2009
Getting Ready to Party
Beijing is preparing for a birthday party. A BIG birthday party. The mother of all birthday parties! On October 1, China will turn 60. But wait, you say…..doesn't China have a long and glorious history of 5000 years? How can a country that's 5000 years old be celebrating her 60th birthday? Remember…nothing is as it…
How does the Chinese Education System Work Anyway?
The bulk of my career in China has been spent in the field of education. My first job was as an English teacher at a provincial level College of Education (Teachers College) way back in 1984. In the 90's I studied Chinese at a major Normal University (Teachers University), and stayed on there to direct…
What’s in a Name?
A friend in Shanghai recently blogged about the importance of foreigners in China choosing appropriate Chinese names. Chinese names are beautiful, rich in symbolism and possess a sense of history that places the bearer securely within the culture. Finding an appropriate Chinese name for a foreigner is, perhaps, even more difficult than it is for…
Fixed Link
It seems that the link to the article on English Teacher Celebrities in my last post is not correct. Here is the correct link: Crazy English: How China's language teachers became big celebrities. Sorry about that.
Be a Star! Teach English in China!
China is probably the only country in the world where English teachers can rise to 'rock star' status. Great Britain's Independent newspaper recently published a great article explaining this phenomenon, titled Crazy English: How China's Language Teachers Became Big Celebraties: Chinese people are becoming more and more obsessed with speaking English, and efforts to improve…