11 December, 2013

Yo-ho, yo-ho. An expatriate's life for me.


I know what you’re thinking, and yes, it’s been a long time (over a month? Sheesh!). In my defence, I’ve been busy.







These photos are proof! This semester has been, without question, my toughest as a PCV. I ended up with teaching 16 hours, not unusual, but did so with seven different preps each week. I don’t offer that as a complaint, but as an explanation for my silence. I have a few more weeks of busy—finals, Christmas, et cetera—then holiday.

Around this time last year, I wrote about how important it was for me to write. That remains true, and I feel guilty for each of the half-written blogs littered on my hard drive. My goal is to get a few more posts up before I travel, so stay tuned…

You’re probably wondering why this post? Why today? Why would I upload a bunch of photos of myself? If you’re assumption is vanity, rude. Maybe not totally inaccurate, though. My vanity is never in short supply…

I commissioned these photos because I recently submitted something for one of NPR’s new segments, Project Xpat (theyve already featured one PCV). This month, they are publishing loads of stories about Americans living abroad. One article requests submissions, asking expatriates “What does it mean to you to be an expatriate?” in ten words or less.

It means always explaining: Yes, I’m doing this for free.

That was my submission. Project Xpat asked for a photo to go with the answer, and I thought a photo of me teaching would be best. I have to give all of the thanks to my new Peace Corps neighbour. She’s got a fancy camera, and was willing to walk over and snap a few photos during my freshman-level writing class. I am grateful, so please check out her blog.



Before I go, I’m going to shamelessly self-promote. My first Christmas here, I posted photos of my Christmas decorations. Not a lot has changed, although now I have a few Christmas cards on top of my television. Enjoy some Christmas cheer from Lanzhou, and I promise to have more soon. 

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