From Grits to Chopsticks

  Rhette McClam Cannon Feb 15, 1923 to Apr 28, 2012 Susan’s mom passed away on Saturday morning.  We were so very thankful to have arrived in South Carolina last Tuesday, enabling us to spend her final days together. Even in the face of death, we have a hope for the future based on the unshakable promise […]

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It’s time for another blog about funny English and unique things that we find around our city.  We understand that there are probably equally “interesting” translations from English to Chinese in America, so these comments are not intended to be critical – just fun. We ate lunch with some of our students two weeks ago at […]

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A week ago, we celebrated the hope and joy of Easter.  It’s interesting to think of what if must’ve been like to look into the empty tomb, realizing that the promised resurrection was true. Two weeks ago, another tomb-related festival was held here in China – Qingming Jie: a time to sweep the ancestral graves and offer […]

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A popular book among students is “Crazy English” by Richard Lederer.  We haven’t read the book, but sometimes our English Corners might seem kind of crazy.  Recently, after we talked about St. Patrick’s Day, the students ate green snacks: Speaking of “snacks,” almost all students mispronounce the word to sound like “snakes,” an error that is apparently propagated […]

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When we first came to China, we were a bit surprised to see bags and bins of large bullfrogs in many stores, including our local Wal-Mart: So it was only a matter of time before they showed up on our table.  While eating with some new students this week, I wondered why they were laughing while ordering the food.  […]

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We often find it interesting to compare prices between what we pay here in China and what we remember from America.  Some things are more expensive, but we’ve found some foods quite a bit cheaper.  Our market has some pretty good prices on fruits and vegetables during the right season, like these strawberries and oranges, both […]

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Almost every time we go shopping, we are reminded of numerous differences between China and America.  You might expect things at Walmart to be the same all over the world, but back in America, we don’t ever remember seeing an entire aisle of cooking oil: Or soy sauce: And of course, there are bins and bags […]

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We’re now into our third week of classes here, and we have the opportunity to work with over a hundred new students (I took pictures of each one to learn their names):  Along with the new group of students, Mark also has a new lunch schedule, giving him the opportunity to spend time with small groups […]

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On Sunday afternoons, we often enjoy quiet walks around our local zoo.  A week ago was our first time back in 2012, and we noticed that the entrance is decorated to celebrate the year of the dragon: The zoo is actually a large park which also includes amusement rides, food vendors, and countless cherry trees which are […]

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A new business opened on the corner of our apartment block today.  In keeping with tradition, we heard the roar of a zillion firecrackers ignite just before lunchtime – the first step in the process to chase away evil spirits and attract new customers.  It is also traditional to surround the new business with floral sprays, usually […]

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