Introducing Our "Community"
of Foreign Experts

As we wrote in our report for Week One, "Foreign Expert" is the term given us, and our colleagues teaching here, by the Chinese Educational System. There are eight of us all together, and we'd like to introduce the others to you this week.
We feel fortunate to have such a wonderful group of people as our neighbors, colleagues, and support system. Each and every one of them has made our lives here in Zibo an enriching experience. We share ideas, look out for one another, and fill some important needs during our temporary relocation in China.

And so, with out further ado, we'd like you to meet....

TOMAS
This is how to write my name - Tomas Tauchman. I am from the Czech Republic but I got my college education (BSBA in marketing and MBA) at Appalachian State University located in Boone, NC - a great place to live, and I go to Carolina in my mind very often!!! The original reason for my being in China was to learn Chinese. After I came here, a couple more reasons came up - a business of my own and a Chinese girlfriend of my own. Although I may leave Zibo in July, I don't intend to leave China for a while. We will see how it goes though....

EMILY
Emily hails from Pennsylvania, U.S.A. She is 24 years old, and she graduated from Edinboro University (Pennsylvania) with a B.S. in secondary education-English. After graduation, she taught English at a high school in Arizona, where she plans to return after a year here in China. She has now been teaching oral English in China for eight months. If you like to travel, she recommends teaching abroad in any country. It is a great cultural experience, and there are countless opportunities to visit places of interest in the area and possibly even in surrounding countries.

JEREMY
My name is Jeremy Patterson. My hometown is Hanover, Pennsylvania
however I have called many places "home" in my life. Currently Zibo, China
is that place. I am a recent graduate of Edinboro University of
Pennsylvania which is outside of Erie, PA. I have a Bachelor's degree in
Political Science with minors in Spanish and History. I came to China to
gain experience living in a vastly different culture and to immerse myself
in my study of Mandarin Chinese Language. The immersion part hasn't been as
successful as I'd have liked since I spend the bulk of my time preparing and
giving English lessons. I have made some progress though using what the
Chinese call the "learn as you teach" method. This way I try to learn the
Chinese equivalents for every English lesson I teach. A rather symbiotic
relationship indeed not to mention I have the luxury of a salary and a
rather cozy apartment. Not too shabby.

TOM and SHIRLEY
Hi, we're Tom and Shirley Carleson from the great state of Idaho! We've been teaching here for seven months. We came to China to teach because we wanted to do something different for a few years, and we wanted to use our skills to help others. We like teaching in the university setting because the students are so eager to learn our language. Our favorite classes, however, are the two evening adult classes. Classes for adults are a new concept here, and we've found that Chinese adults are hungering for knowledge of the English language and our American culture.

AINE
My name is Aine, and I'm Irish, and I'm left-handed, which makes me really unique in China. China is the first stop on my world tour. I thought it would be a good idea to start somewhere completely different from any place I'd been before, and I was not wrong. China is a great place for anyone who has a sense of adventure, and a taste for the bizarre. You can learn a lot of things here, such as Chinese, incredible patience, and bargaining skills.

Now you've met our colleagues, and you'll know who we are talking about in future reports.

We were once again lucky to get out of town this past weekend, to Taishan Mountain.

TAISHAN MOUNTAIN
We are including a few photos of our weekend jaunt to one of the sacred mountains of China, right in our own backyard. Very impressive, a steep climb, incredible views from on high.

That's it for this week, stay tuned for more........

TOMAS

EMILY

JEREMY

SHIRLEY and TOM

AINE

A View From the Mountain

Mount Taishan