Tag Archives: teaching esl

Z Visas Are Approved

Posted on 29 July 2010 by gypsy

I feel like celebrating! Yesterday I picked up our passports with a new Z visa imprinted in each of the passports. With this critical step now done, it is time to book our plane flights. A series of e-mails between … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged C.I.T., Changzhou, China, Chinese, ESL blog, teaching esl, Z visa | Leave a comment

Scenes of Daily Life in Changzhou

Posted on 12 June 2010 by gypsy

Hungry? As the lunch hour approaches, an enterprising couple have set out lunches in anticipation of the hungry passers-by that will soon stop for a bite. Fast food the traditional style . . . One of the great things about … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged C.I.T., Changzhou, China, Chinese, communicate, communication, cooperating teacher, ESL blog, fast food, foreign teacher, FT, Jiangsu, mobile phone, teaching esl | 1 Comment

Night Views of Changzhou

Posted on 11 June 2010 by gypsy

Just a bit of a diversion with this post, a look at some of upscale Changzhou as was seen in September 2006 during and early evening walk with some of our FT colleagues following an evening meal out together. Walking … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged canals, Changzhou, China, Chinese, ESL, ESL blog, foreign teacher, FT, Jiangsu, night lights, teaching esl | 3 Comments

A Bit About Changzhou

Posted on 9 June 2010 by gypsy

Changzhou (常州) is more than a city (市 – shì) in Canadian terms. It is a union of five administrative districts consisting of towns, villages and rural settings contains of about three and a half million people (rén – 人). Changzhou city (Chángzhōushì – … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Changzhou, China, Chinese, chinese language, communicate, communication, ESL, ESL blog, foreign teacher, FT, Jiangsu, Mandarin, teaching esl, xinbei, YángGuāng HuāYuán, 阳光花园 | 1 Comment

People Watching in Changzhou

Posted on 8 June 2010 by gypsy

After being in China for three weeks, in 2006, Maureen and I were feeling quite comfortable with wandering down streets we had not yet seen. Rather than on focusing so much on the things we saw on our walks, we … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged authentic, Changzhou, China, communication, ESL blog, foreign teacher, FT, Jiangsu, people, portraits, teaching esl, xinbei, 常州 | Leave a comment

Contrasts – Behind the Walls

Posted on 6 June 2010 by gypsy

This is one of the homes that are found within the gated community called Sunshine Gardens (yáng guāng huā yuán – 阳光花园) where we lived during our first two years in China (Zhōng guó – 中国) and where we will again live when return to Changzhou … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged běi, Changzhou, China, Chinese, chinese language, communicate, communication, dōng, ESL, ESL blog, foreign teacher, FT, hōng chǎn, Jiangsu, Mandarin, nán, pín kùn, Sunshine Garden, Sunshine Gardens, teaching esl, xī, xinbei, yǒu qián rén, Zhōng guó rén, 常州, 阳光花园 | Leave a comment

You Are Never Too Old to Work

Posted on 4 June 2010 by gypsy

The first September in Changzhou, we got to see how a group of women would take their small scythe-like tools in order to cut grass. This group of women were cutting the grass on the grounds of the Changzhou Software … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged begging, C.I.T., Changzhou, China, Chinese, chinese language, communicate, communication, ESL, ESL blog, foreign teacher, FT, gardening, grounds keeping, Jiangsu, jiao, Mandarin, qǐ tǎo, teaching esl, work ethic, xinbei, yuán, zì zūn, 乞讨, 元, 自尊, 角 | Leave a comment

Discovering Confidence in a Strange Land

Posted on 2 June 2010 by gypsy

With the passage of a few weeks in Changzhou and classes beginning to settle into some sort of routine, we found that we had a bit more time for wandering around the city. Remembering our first journey to the city … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Changzhou, China, Chinese, chinese language, communicate, communication, ESL, ESL blog, fàn diàn, FAO, foreign teacher, FT, Jiangsu, Mandarin, nán dà jiē, shì zhōng xīn, Sunshine Garden, teaching esl, xinbei, yáng guāng huā yuán, 南大街, 市中心, 阳光花园, 饭店 | 2 Comments

The Land of Silly

Posted on 1 June 2010 by gypsy

One of the greatest treasures that we took home from our first two years in China was the ability to laugh. Looking at life in China from the viewpoints of outsiders, there was so much that brought us laughter just … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Changzhou, China, Chinese, ESL blog, expats, foreign teacher, humour, Jiangsu, laughter, teaching esl, xinbei | Leave a comment

Pointless Productivity, or Life?

Posted on 28 May 2010 by gypsy

When we were in Changzhou, there was a lot of demolition activity and an unbelievable amount of new construction. It seemed as though Changzhou was in a race to become a modern, cosmopolitan centre. It seemed that everywhere one went, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged appearances, Changzhou, China, Chinese, communication, construction, demolition, ESL blog, foreign teacher, FT, Jiangsu, point of view, reconstruction, teaching esl, way of life, xinbei | 4 Comments