Welcome to Marist in China

September 7, 2010

Ni hao!  (Chinese for hello)

You can view my earlier welcome to this blog at http://maristinchina.blogspot.com/2007/09/ni-hao-chinese-for-hello-this-is-shawn.html.  This is an update of that introduction which was written 3 years ago.  As you might guess, some things have changed, but some haven't.  We are still here in Beijing and plan to be here for another 4 more years.  My wife is still working for the foreign commercial office here at the U.S. embassy.   

Our son just graduated from high school and is doing a gap year here in Beijing.  He'll be teaching martial arts, volunteering at a NGO project in a village in Sichuan province that is rebuilding from the 2008 earthquake, and taking Chinese classes at a local university.  My daughter is now 15, in 10^th grade at the International School of Beijing, and playing rugby. 

I’ll be blogging and putting up podcasts for Professor Bayer’s Traditional China and Women in Asia class this semester, and hope to have a chance to participate in online discussions with you.  I also teach U.S. college students who are here at the International Education for Students (IES) Beijing center.  I teach classes on the Government and Politics of China, China’s Foreign Relations, and last but not least, Chinese martial art of tai chi.

I look forward to an exciting semester, and hope that the blogs, pictures, and podcasts further your understanding of China.