Monthly Archives: March 2011

We are back in Sweden after another day in Tallinn and another overnight cruise. Tallinn is great if a bit kitsch. I must say that I enjoyed the cruise a bit less on the return trip – in part because … Continue reading →

Sorry for the long absence. Things have been busy on this side of the Atlantic. Wednesday Jason and I headed back into the Gamla Stan. We ate lunch at the chokladkoppen – a little place in the old city that … Continue reading →

Today we took the kids into Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s original town. I really enjoy it over there. It is touristy, to be sure, but I have always found the narrow streets and old buildings of the old city quarters of … Continue reading →

When I first traveled in Sweden 12 years ago, it was the first time that I had visited a country where I couldn’t even make an attempt to speak the language. I felt considerable guilt about the whole thing – … Continue reading →

I learned this morning that the elementary school’s application for the Chinese Teacher Guest Program was denied. So, it turns out that I wasted my time writing the proposal and that I will have no need for help fundraising, etc. … Continue reading →

I covered inequality 101 with the children this afternoon. It went like this: We were playing a baby version of memory, only 6 matches (12 plush tiles). Jie-jie wasn’t really paying attention during the first game (which only lasted for … Continue reading →

Today the sun broke through the clouds and it warmed up to a temperature above freezing. It’s a good thing because yesterday it became clear that the kids had completed plumbed the toy resources available to them here – which … Continue reading →

I sit at a desk, balancing a focus on my book with limited attention to the teacher leading the class next door. She is drilling them on their characters.  I look up when I hear her call, “Ai-te.” That is … Continue reading →