Welcome!
We are an American couple living and working in China. This website serves a few purposes. First, it's our way to stay in touch with family members and friends back home. Second, we hope it's helpful for those of you 外国人 (foreigners) thinking of coming to China. When we first set out to move to China, expats' blogs were super helpful for us. We hope we can return the favor now and provide some resources for you if you are thinking of embarking on the wonderful adventure that is living in China. Finally, you can find information and resources about teaching English (especially EFL) on Angel's teaching blog.
Here is a little more about us:
Matt: an ABC (American-born Chinese) as our Chinese friends are fond of calling him. Matt is the IT director at International School of Qingdao. Matt is passionate about business, computers, and people. He has been studying Mandarin for the past six years and is now conversational but still always learning more. (He didn't grow up speaking Mandarin.) Matt graduated from Wheaton College with a bachelor's degree in communications, business, and psychology. He recently finished a master's degree in Information Management Systems from Harvard Extension School.
Angel: a mostly white European mutt from a small town in Indiana with very little racial diversity. The first time she met a Chinese person was on a summer trip to China to volunteer at English camps in 2002. She fell in love with Chinese people and culture during that trip and thereafter knew she wanted to live in China long-term. Angel has taught English at Tianjin Foreign Studies University and Tianjin International School. She now teaches English at Ocean University of China in Qingdao. She has a bachelor's degree in English literature from Wheaton College and a master's degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from Azusa Pacific University.
Here is a little more about us:
Matt: an ABC (American-born Chinese) as our Chinese friends are fond of calling him. Matt is the IT director at International School of Qingdao. Matt is passionate about business, computers, and people. He has been studying Mandarin for the past six years and is now conversational but still always learning more. (He didn't grow up speaking Mandarin.) Matt graduated from Wheaton College with a bachelor's degree in communications, business, and psychology. He recently finished a master's degree in Information Management Systems from Harvard Extension School.
Angel: a mostly white European mutt from a small town in Indiana with very little racial diversity. The first time she met a Chinese person was on a summer trip to China to volunteer at English camps in 2002. She fell in love with Chinese people and culture during that trip and thereafter knew she wanted to live in China long-term. Angel has taught English at Tianjin Foreign Studies University and Tianjin International School. She now teaches English at Ocean University of China in Qingdao. She has a bachelor's degree in English literature from Wheaton College and a master's degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from Azusa Pacific University.