CHINA

Country Overview:

“Love the food, hate the government”

I arrived in China in May 2013 and left August 2020. I taught English for awhile, did my master’s of politics & foreign policy at Tsinghua University, worked for a year at China Today, and then two years at Xinhua News Agency. I spent most of my time in Beijing, but also traveled to Shanghai, Wuhan, Inner Mongolia, Shenzhen, Panjin, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Qingdao, Xi’an, Sanya, Macau, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Degen Hill 4/20/15 Degen Hill 4/20/15

Buddy sent me this from the school he teaches at. Keep up the good work man.

Degen Hill 8/19/14 Degen Hill 8/19/14

Coolest shirt I have seen one of my kids wear so far

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Correct..

Me:So what do you eat during the morning?
Student:Breakfast
Me:What do you eat at night?
Student:Dinner
Me:What do you eat during the afternoon?
Student:Fish

Degen Hill 7/5/14 Degen Hill 7/5/14

Germany, she knows what’s up

Degen Hill 5/12/14 Degen Hill 5/12/14

Mother’s Day was super fun

Colored paper flowers in my little kids class, and made origami cranes / flowers with the older ones. Wishing all you moms out there a fantastic day!

Degen Hill 4/24/14 Degen Hill 4/24/14

Happy belated Easter! And yes, I named one of my kids ‘Wall-E’ spelled with a ’-’

Degen Hill 4/19/14 Degen Hill 4/19/14

Colored eggs for Easter and thought, this is going to get crazy

So I gave them all lollipops before we started and it was the quietest they have ever been. I’m glad I boiled 2 dozen eggs because 8 were dropped in less than an hour. But hey, kids will be kids.

Degen Hill 3/25/14 Degen Hill 3/25/14

I’m off to Mongolia tomorrow for the final border run on my current visa. Plan: find a soviet-era war jacket. 24 hours should be plenty of time

Degen Hill 3/20/14 Degen Hill 3/20/14

Awhile back my company did a photo shoot and they put my picture on the internet, no problem

My buddy in Shanghai just sent me this and said they are all over the place. This is not what I had in mind when I fantasized about being ‘famous’

Degen Hill 3/9/14 Degen Hill 3/9/14

5 year olds doing push-ups is hilarious

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Birthdays are the best

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He thought he was sooooo funny

Degen Hill 1/26/14 Degen Hill 1/26/14

Cake in the face, classic

Degen Hill 1/21/14 Degen Hill 1/21/14

Played Jeopardy in class and used real money in honor of the Chinese New Year

I’ve never seen kids be so excited about winning the equivalent of .04 cents. I’ve also noticed several firework stands being constructed around where I live and keep getting more and more excited in anticipation of their grand opening.