One of the world's most polluted cities The Toronto Star recently listed China's Urumqi as one of the Top Ten worst places to live in the world. The reason? Pollution. The list prompted my strangely fond memories of coughing and spluttering through winter in Urumqi while teaching English there between 2005 and 2006. By Alison… Continue reading Winter in Urumqi
My story about teaching in Khartoum, Sudan was published by Transitions Abroad. Here's the full story: By Alison Bate Shortly after I arrived in Sudan, one of my favorite male students quietly passed me a handwritten note, whispering that I should read it later. After class, I read a charming explanation that because he was… Continue reading Teaching in the Muslim World
How we were turfed out of a village in remote China It was late January, the start of Chinese New Year, when Chris and I decided to escape the coal pollution, dirty snow and concrete overpasses of Urumqi. We were teaching English in the capital city of China’s remote northwestern province of Xinjiang. Tired of… Continue reading Kicked Out Of The Karakoram
