Author Archives: connieinasia

             Every year, for the past 10 years, I’ve always given each of my students 2 laminated photographs as a memory of their foreign language teacher. The pictures are usually of me and Little Flower, with poses around our school … Continue reading →

             I am not a great one for participating in games.             As a teacher, I love to organize them in my classroom. It’s fun to officiate over mini spelling bees, student blackboard contests or “Simon Says”.   But actually participating in … Continue reading →

             Dogs on our campus are forbidden.  It’s a long-standing rule of the school.  This is a protection to students and our staff plus their families who live here.              Dogs in most rural areas of China, whether pets or … Continue reading →

Quite a few teachers in China enjoy teaching freshmen.  Whether high school or college, there are always  perks to having 1st year students when they arrive at their schools for the first time.  Everything is new for them:  classes, teachers, … Continue reading →

Coloring Eggs with the Kids             For those that follow my website, you already know that Saturday afternoon is my time with the neighborhood kids.  I have an open door policy from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday for … Continue reading →

           Qing Ming Jie (Tomb Sweeping Festival) arrives on April 5.  This is one of China’s newer official holidays, having been declared as such 3 years ago.              Before, Tomb Sweeping Festival was merely a traditional day that was not … Continue reading →

             In the past few years, there haven’t been as many Amity teachers as there once was.              In 1986, when the program first began, the numbers were well into the 40s and 50s.  Now is a different story. Sending … Continue reading →

           Sunday morning had me wondering why the electricity was off.              Last year, we had constant 12-hour blocks of electricity outages at this time of year. Rumors had it that new power lines were being placed around the town … Continue reading →

The American Candy Queen            Wherever I am in the world, it’s always been my habit of purchasing candy.  Whether for classroom prizes, snacks for visitors or just for my own severe sweet tooth, candy can always be found in … Continue reading →