USA

Sorry, Alaska isn't on the map above (because it is too big!), but this beautiful state is north-west of Washington. (Left) The graphic shows how big Alaska is, compared to the "continental United States." Though it is the biggest state, it has one of the smallest populations. In total area, the US is a little smaller than China (which is third in size, after Russia and Canada--both of which have large "frozen" sections, like Alaska!).

For Frequently Asked Questions about us,

look at the bottom of this page.

The USA is a big place so it is impossible to present a clear introduction on a few web pages. For example, students ask us what the weather is like in the USA. I usually say, "It's like China--depending on where you live you could swim at the beach, ski in the snow, enjoy a cool green forest or bake in the desert, sometimes ALL ON THE SAME DAY!"

At the top of this page, you will find links to some pages with photos we think our students would like to see. We call both Ohio and South Carolina "home"; Vivian and Andrew always lived in South Carolina before moving to China, but Michael grew up in Ohio (and the family has been there several times over the years), and has also lived and worked in many states (primarily Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Carolina). Michael and Vivian met (and married--1989) in a church in South Carolina, where they lived until 2000. Their married daughter still lives there.

The following art-map shows some of America's famous places (or things associated with certain places). Click here for a more detailed map; when you get there, put your mouse over any state to see the state's name (from Fox news).

Frequently Asked Questions

Click on the underlined items below to find the answers to some questions people often ask us.

	What part of the USA are you from? Ohio and South Carolina--see the text above for more details
	What is Michael's academic background? Michael's Bachelor's Degree is from Eastern College in Pennsylvania (major: Sociology; minor: Social Work); his Master's Degree is from Columbia International University (major: Teaching English as a Foreign Language and Intercultural Studies); he has also studied Chinese full time for three years (at Xiamen University and in Kunming).
	How long have you been in China?
	What parts of China have you visited?
	What do you think of China?
	What is your hobby? When we are not busy teaching/grading/working, Michael likes to work on this website and play the guitar; Vivian likes to create scrapbooks/photo albums; Andrew likes to do "photo/graphic" things on his computer and play computer games; we all like family movies.
	How many people are in your family?
	Why did you come to teach in China?
	What did you do in the US before you came to China? Vivian worked for 28 years for the City of Columbia, in various administrative positions including her final role as the City Clerk. Michael did a number of things, including managing a camera store, working as a reference librarian, working with international students attending several universities, helping to organize the annual Columbia International Festival, serving as education director at COC in Columbia, and (after finishing his MA) teaching English to international students.
	Why did you create this website? (see the bottom of our home page)
	Why are you leaving China in July 2010? The main reason is so that Andrew can finish high school (2010-2011 school year) in the USA, and thus qualify for in-state (discount) tuition in college. We also think that a good American high school can do a better job of helping him prepare for the challenges of college (better than "home schooling" or international schools in China). He will attend the same high school that Michael graduated from, and it is a very good high school! His "year in America" will also give him the chance to get to know his grandparents better (we'll live in their home), visit several universities and talk to admissions officials about academic programs, classes available, scholarships and other important things. (We also want to be in the US in December when our first grandchild will be born! And we have not spent much time in the US since 2004, so an extended vacation is long overdue.)
	Will you work in America, or come back to China or Asia after Andrew finishes high school? "Tian zhi dao!" The most important consideration is finding a way to help Andrew enter and pay for university. We expect the annual cost to be around $20,000, and since salaries in China are so low (in 2010, Michael's salary was less than $600 per month) it seems unlikely that we can return in the near future (unless Andrew gets a good scholarship). But salaries in Hong Kong or other parts of Asia are much more reasonable, and we may look for a job there, as well as looking for a teaching position in the USA. During the fall of 2010, Michael and Vivian will probably have many opportunities to speak and/or write about their experiences in China, and that will keep them busy. Vivian may also look for part-time or full-time work. Once we decide on our next location, we will visit Kunming briefly to get our dog (our neighbors will take care of her while we are away) and some other things we've stored, and take them to their/our new home.
	Why don't you add background music and movies to your website? Posting movies on a web site not only takes a huge amount of space, it is illegal! We try very hard to honor intellectual property rights on this site, so the materials have either been created/adapted by us or are posted for "fair use" educational purposes (hopefully, with the author's or source's name shown). While we could add background music--some is specially made for website usage--any music worth listening to would use too much of our "on-line space" that we prefer to use for original materials. However, you can link to some of our favorite radio stations on the links page.

Do you have a different question?