TravelBio

Grade 11 students after their final...this pretty much sums up our last month of work at school! The last post was about my trip to Macau in early June. Today I am writing this post in my parent's kitchen. No, they haven't moved to China; I've come back to the US! The students and teachers at the graduation party Before I explain my plans here in the States, I'll give you a quick overview of my last weeks in China. June was a surreal month, because I knew the semester was drawing to a close, but it never really sank in that I was leaving China for good. At the beginning of June, just before I went to Macau, the seniors had their graduation party. They held it at bar/club downtown. If it sounds weird to you, that makes two of us. The venue wasn't stocked with liquor for the party, but they did sell beers. Well, a few of the foreign teachers bought beers, but nobody else drank. So much for a party! After the graduation party and Macau, things were qui...

Less than a week since we flew back from Guilin we were off again…this time to Macau! What happens in Macau, stays in Macau. The City of Entertainment. Well, Macau isn’t exactly Vegas, but it is the closest thing to it in Asia. What Macau lacks in late night entertainment and debauchery, it makes up for in gambling; and I mean a lot of gambling. If you think of Vegas as the gambling capital of the world, you are mistaken. Macau has held that title—in terms of gaming revenue—since 2006. Today that revenue is over 6 times the total in Vegas! Many Vegas casinos, such as the Wynn, are also in Macau Vegas still eaks out more visitors than Macau, but far fewer people go to Vegas to gamble these days. Walk into any casino on the strip, and the average age is well over 40. Most people my age want to go to the City of Sin for partying and clubbing, not roulette and craps. Even my parents, who visit Vegas at least once a year and enjoy video poker, probably spend more money on s...

In April Joanna played tour guide to friends from England, and in May it was my turn. Justin, whom I’d met on my university internship in Canada, was invited to a wedding in Shanghai on the 20 th , and he decided to make it a two and a half week trip. Justin is a PhD student at Columbia, which means he has lots of flexibility over the summer. We’d talked about meeting up ever since our trip to Asia in 2015, and now it was finally becoming a reality. An ancient canal in Suzhou Sunday, May 21 st , the day after the wedding, I met Justin in Suzhou. Suzhou is less than an hour from Shanghai and about 2 hours by high speed train from Hangzhou. It’s known as the “Venice of China” for its numerous canals. Although it doesn’t quite live up to the name, Suzhou is worth a visit nonetheless. The city feels more historical than most in China, and with over 5 million residents, it also has the comforts of a modern, developed city (in China 5 million people means it’s just a medium-sized ...