Advent: Preparing the Way (Prepare Yee the Wei?)

The last time that I moved and began a new job was in February 2002. My first day of work required that I fly to DC and meet my boss, former Commissioner Nancy Brockway, at a National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners conference in Washington, DC. It was Valentine's Day, 2002.

My job at Perfect English in Changchun will begin on Valentine's Day, as well, with an all day training. I have been asked to read a book on learning English as a second language and nearly everybody that I speak to recommends Peter Hessler's River Town. I watched an hour of the BBC's Wild China with a friend on Monday evening. It was Programme 4: Beyond the Great Wall. The imagery, the people, the depictions of the fierce climate along the Silk Road left me breathless. I am certainly flying off into the Middle Kingdom. Luckily there is a guide to life and teaching there.

I am getting some CDs from Irene Rawlings that will give me a cursory introduction to the complexities of Mandarin. What else should I be reading and watching and thinking about?