This past year of Beihang University has been great for me. I was happy most of the time, even though I fell completely short of two of my goals. My Chinese is still completely abysmal and my weight is still entirely too high. I did lose about 15 kg during the first semester and then gained it back over the spring. Financially, I am in a much better place. I make about the same comparatively in the States, but I don’t have to finance a car, pay insurance or gas, or the rent on an apartment or room. All of that money goes to my savings (ok, my debt).

In January, I went to the home of my friend Anna, in Wenzhou. I met her family and stayed at her home for a couple of days. It was very beautiful there among the rice fields and mountains. The people of Wenzhou speak a dialect that is extremely difficult, so I understood none of it. Her family is very nice. We then went to the wedding of our mutual friend, Sabrina, in Hangzhou. I also stayed with her family. Her mom tried to murder me with food. She was beyond gracious and welcoming. I enjoyed getting to know both families.

Anna and me, Wenzhou.

Serena’s Wedding, Hangzhou.

After that, I went to Hong Kong and Macau (my 2x) where I visited with my friend Jan (from Czech Rep.) and my 妹妹 (Masako from Japan). I met both of them while living in the dorms of Sichuan University. They are some of my favorite people. Jan was studying at HK Polytech and Masako came to visit with us both. We also went to Macau and had dinner at the Grand Lisboa Casino with two other friends, Ricver Chan and Elaine Seng. Ricver was Jan’s roommate at Sichuan University. Elaine is a friend of mine that I met while teaching at Beijing Normal University. She was a student then and is now a teacher in Macau.

Jan and me, Macau

Jan and Masako in Hong Kong

Elaine and me, Macau.

I had another trip later in the year. I went to Pingyao, Shanxi Province with friends from Church. It was great hanging out with those guys, especially since one of them will soon be heading back to the US. The city itself was very interesting. I also bought the first souvenir (other than books) in the past ten years – a gun that fires matchsticks. I didn’t tell anyone but I immediately regretted buying it. First, I am an avowed cheapskate and it cost me about $8. Second, it was a silly purchase. I could also have had a miniature bust of myself made for $48, but didn’t because it was too expensive and a bit egotistical. All of the souvenirs in the past ten years were given to me.

As for the school, I love teaching here. My students are respectful and eager to learn. I felt that my Western Culture classes were interesting and had something of an impact. Several mentioned that my class was their favorite. I think that had more to do with my no homework policy than anything else, though. I felt some regret about my Oral English class. My students were exchange students from outside of Beihang and they paid more to come to this university. I could see their progress, but could also sense their frustration because they did not feel they were as capable as others. I knew this was not true, but I could not seem to convey that to them. They were the only class I had for the whole year and were my favorite. Each of them is an example to me in striving for my goals.

My students.

It seems in many ways that my life has come full circle. Or maybe just that it has not gone anywhere, if I were a complete pessimist. When I was 25, I set out for China as an English teacher. I was young, reasonably healthy (if very overweight), and happy. My second time in China was a time of depression and despair mitigated only by the presence of awesome friends. My roommate Bruno and our companions Beata, Rob, Jan, Masako (and so many others) did more of a service in my life than even they know. 2009-2012 was one of the darkest periods of my life and in the last two years of that time, I almost folded. But now I have returned triumphantly (mostly in my own head) to China at 34, still as an English teacher. I may have not been a huge success in the last decade, but most importantly I am happy. Still overweight, though. I have found that I am usually happier abroad for some reason. Probably something to do with not paying taxes.

For the last month and 1/2, I have been teaching at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (北京航空航天大学), or simply Beihang (北航). This time around I am teaching graduate students majoring in a wide variety of majors. Mostly, though, they are engineering and science majors. All of them are smarter than me. It is a strange atmosphere as well, since I teach about 90% male. When I worked at Beijing Normal, I taught the reverse – almost all girls. In addition, they were English majors. It is still really interesting. As I told one student, I learn as much or more from the class than perhaps they do. I do have one class of English undergraduate majors, but they are a special class made up of students from other universities outside Beijing (called appropriately, Visiting Students). They are pretty cool kids and very enjoyable to teach.

I found that my Chinese has reached new levels of terrible. I was surprised by how much I remember since I haven’t spoken it in three years. Still, this is countered by the great majority that flies over my head. I still have quite a bit of perseverance though. I will eventually become good at this language. I keep telling myself this and hope through repetition that it becomes true.

Beijing itself has changed so much since I was here in 2010, and even more so since 2004 on my first visit. The people seem worldlier, yet the air quality remains about the same. I went to play basketball yesterday and almost hacked up a lung. Ok, the fact that I have eschewed physical activity for almost forever had a great deal to do with it as well. I have been slowly losing weight – mostly because I walk almost everywhere and I eat better. I eat tons of vegetables here rather than meat.

The only real complaint that I have is that I forgot how slow the internet is on Chinese university campuses. The speed is slower than at my Dad’s, which I had previously thought was the slowest “broadband internet” available to mankind. I have been proven wrong.