Yes China! An English Teacher's Love-Hate Relationship with a Foreign Country

Yes China! is a story about... tacos. You thought I was going to say China, didn't you? Well, there might be something about China in here, but this is not your ordinary travelogue. It's a lot sillier than that. Sure, I did the whole "traveling on a budget" thing and came face-to-face with some of the most horrific restrooms in existence, but the real reason I was in China was to teach. More specifically, I was there to pretend like I knew how to teach. Because I didn't.

So how does someone who had no interest in China and no experience in teaching end up spending a total of two years there? It was a spontaneous decision to go in the first place, but through the series of cultural mishaps that followed, the embarrassing romances, teaching successes and failures, cross-country adventures, personal revelations, and moments of thinking, "What the hell am I doing?!" I fell in love.

Yes China! offers a unique look into the Chinese classroom as I butt heads with everyone from elementary and adult students to their school administrators. It is as much about life in modern China--the food, the language, the customs--as it is about how the experience helped me grow up and move past my social insecurities, conflicting Mormon upbringing, and self-defeating mindset. And, seriously, there really is a section about tacos in here, too.