I always knew that parenthood would be a challenge, though I assumed that I’d be doing it in my home country instead of China. In many ways it's what I imagined parenting to be like but raising ...

I have a big confession to make. I did something recently that may well turn me into the office pariah – shunned, ignored, ostracized and more likely than ever to be passed over for promotion. In ...

In my eight years as an ESL teacher, I’ve dealt with all types of parents – from the supportive to the apathetic and everyone in between. Being a parent myself and teaching both my sons English, I...

While you're out and about today, have a look at how many people are wearing English-language t-shirts. Lots, right? The funny lines and squiggles on these shirts will probably have generic or ...

A little while ago, I posted a blog on memorable flatmates. They were real characters for sure but lately, I’ve been thinking about some of my most memorable coworkers over the years as well. ...

Life as a parent can be difficult. It’s tiring, stressful, kills your social life and can be emotionally and financially draining. However, these are mere irritations compared to the challenges of ...

For so long I was lead to believe that all expectant Chinese couples prefer boys. Maybe in many small to mid-sized cities, that's still very much the case. Here in the first-tier city of Guangzhou ...

This blog is aimed mainly at the newer arrivals who are about to go shopping in China for the first time. Whether you choose to frequent the big chain department stores or the thousands of 'hole in ...

One thing I appreciate about living in China is getting job opportunities that wouldn’t be available back home. On top of teaching and freelance writing, I can now add actor to my list of ...

Queuing is easy. Or at least it should be. Logically, there’s nothing difficult about waiting in line with a group of other bored people to do what you need to do, get served and leave. But ...

When I first moved to China in 2008, my intention was to stay a year, maybe two before returning home. Six years later I’m still here, with no plans to leave any time soon. Upon reading this, ...

So, where was I? Oh yes, I had already told you about the midnight runner, a guy who stayed for about a week and now, a weird skull collector. As well as being very strange and messy, Evan had very ...

In my six years of living in China, I’ve lived in quite a few apartments of varying quality and with people of very different personalities. The first company I worked for in Guangzhou offered...

Time has just flown by. In three years, my international baby has turned into an international toddler and started kindergarten. It’s an important milestone for both parent and child, as ...

Relationships between Western men and Chinese women aren’t uncommon in China these days. I myself have been married to my Chinese wife for three and a half years, which has been a very ...

For some ESL teachers, part of their job responsibilities may be to go on summer or winter camps with their students. That was the case for me with my last company five years ago. It was a winter ...