Chinese Hospitality in Changchun
“Do you have a hotel?” our now-ex-landlord asks, as her husband, Xiao Feng, chauffeurs us 45 minutes across town to the brand spanking new Harbin...
Tagged: Chinese
Getting the Seasons Wrong in Wudalianchi
“Can we see the cranes?” I ask Zhang Wei, in my still resolutely rubbish Chinese. “They’re not here,” he replies, driving at a pace so...
Signs of the Times: Chinglish Edition
The Communist Party of China, in its infinite wisdom, is about to remove one of the most reliable sources of visitor entertainment, the Chinglish sign....
Why We Won’t Continue the Chinese School Experiment
We committed to Chinese school for Zac on the apparently random basis that we would reassess when the time came up to renew our lease....
Some Thoughts on Chinese Algebra
Watching Family Guy last night, we hit the episode where Tricia Takanawa says: “Hi! I’m here with Stephen Hawking, the only white man I’ve ever...
A Swimming Date in China
The lesser spotted tween, and its larger relative, the greater spotted teen, are elusive creatures in urban China. You might glimpse one between 6 and...
One Benefit of Learning English in Chinese Schools
Handwriting has never been a strength of Zac’s. He’s a lefty, and started writing aged three. Then, because current British thinking is that young children...
On Doing Maths in Chinese
I knew, of course, that maths as taught in Asia is some way ahead of the UK (and, for that matter, most of the West)....
First Day of Chinese School
We’re both fairly quiet in the taxi to the school. What had seemed like a really good idea at the time – put Zac in...
We Find a Chinese School
A bit of English language Googling around bilingual schools in Harbin finds a site for teachers of English as a foreign language, and a job...