International Language Programs (ILP)

This weekend we decided to head up to the capital, Puebla, to see some ruins, cathedrals, and of course do some shopping (that´s what happens when it is 14 girls and 1 guy). We rented out a tour bus and so it made it really nice because we had our own personal chauffeurs for the entire day. They were way cool and helped us get hooked up with all the goods throughout the day including discounts at the sites, tips on where to go, and snacks.Our first stop was in the old pagan center of Cholula which is a suburb of Puebla and where one of the world´s largest pyramids is located. Unfortunatel...

My Favorite Things To Do In Ukraine *Swim in the Dnipro River! *Sing in the domed cathedrals *Eat the most amazing ice cream, “Morozhena” *Buy trinkets and unique jewelry from the “babushkas” aka grandmas on the sidewalks *Visit the amazing(!) historical sites like the Chernobyl museum, Babyn Yar (a monument and famous site of the holocaust), the WWII museum with the HUGE 10 story iron statue *Walk around the gorgeous gardens and monuments around Arsenalna metro station *Meet the Ukrainian church members *G...

One of my roommates came to Russia simply to have a break from school. She had no previous experience with kids, and she said she came to see how she meshed with “little people.” Throughout the semester, her reasons for being in Russia changed. I asked her one day if there was a specific time when it changed for her, and she told me a story about one of our kids, his name was Elia. Let me give you a little background on Elia. He was probably our number one problem child. We had a really hard time getting him to pay attention, he had a huge temper, and was known as a trouble maker. On...

1. Get bored waiting for the bus and find something you have no idea what it is. A likely candidate. Then, accidentally order three of them. 2. Take too big of an enthusiastic bite and get splinters in the roof of your mouth. Choke a little, accidentally swallow some, and realize you actually have no idea how to eat this sucker. 3. Surreptitiously find someone else who is eating what you now recognize as sugar cane to model the correct eating procedure, but not so surreptitiously that bystanders don't realize what you're doing and laugh at your ignorance. 4. Take...

          One of the most interesting places to go in Tehuacan is the zoo.  It isn’t quite a petting zoo, but it isn’t like zoos in the US, either, where the animals hide out in their little den all day and you never get to see them.  No, in this zoo things are up close and personal.  We were all impressed with how active the animals were and how close.  I never realized just how big and majestic a lion really is until I saw one standing on a raised ledge three feet in front of me, staring down at me like I wasn’t even really ...

Prepare yourselves. This is to be an entry of epic length.Guilin slash Yangshuo. There are no words. Or pictures, even. (See my Hong Kong complaint about cameras not doing things justice.) It is SO BEAUTIFUL there.Too beautiful, in fact. You look and look and look at the burial mounds and orange groves and rice paddies hewn out of the hills and TREES and those famous mountains until it's just too much and you can't take it anymore and you have to shut your eyes or read or something because you are beautied out.They have fully embraced their mountains there. They make money with them. They p...

I would like to present to you an amazing individual named Sparky. Sparky is amazing for several reasons. First of all, he is a driver at the school and has saved the ILP teachers from walking in the rain and brought them dinner many a time. He even gave us a ride to the Yi Jia Yi in his car that one time on his day off when we we mixed up the bus schedule and waited for the bus for a year and a half. Sparky has fixed the Internet and Debbie's cell phone, burned our Chinese lesson CDs, and rescued us when the door broke and we were trapped in the apartment. Twice. But most of all, Sparky has...

While teaching in China I grew to love the kids so much and I loved to serve them by teaching them English. There was a boy I taught named Will that I will never forget. Every semester the teachers put on a program at the end of the year for the children’s parents and other students. During the program Will tapped me on the shoulder and said teacher no bye bye, while doing a hand gesture of an air plane. He then buried his head in his arms and began to cry. As I looked at him with tears streaming down his face I realized that these kids loved me as much as I loved them. And that I really meant somet...

Yesterday as I was walking to class one of my top students, Allen, slipped his hand into mine and began talking to me. "Teacher, thirty days it will be Christmas." Lately I've been trying to explain to my young students that I will be leaving soon.  This seemed like the perfect opportunity.  I looked down at him and said, "Yes.  And I will be home with my family—in America."  He got a concerned look on his face.  "How many days on your passcard?" "My passport?  I have around 120 days on my passport."  He looked relieved.  "But Allen, I ...

Have you ever been on a train for 28 consecutive hours?  It's almost deadly. When I set off for the train station Saturday morning, I was carrying a supply of drinks and snacks and was determined to have a good attitude about the long trip ahead.  I mean, I was going to Guilin--one of the most beautiful places in all of China!  So I got on the train and found out that my group would be sitting together…all but me that is.  I was assigned to sit in the same car but at the opposite end.  No problem--I would be sitting next to some nice Chinese people and was...