Coming Soon

Since November I have been spending nearly every free moment editing together our production. The fruit of our combined labors is almost at hand. View the trailer below.

He is Risen!

Spring Trip!

From 7th Grade Spring Trip 09

Every spring, our school sends grades 6 through 12 on trips around China in order to learn more about Chinese culture and deepen the students' appreciation for their host country. This year, we went with the 7th graders to tour Shandong Province.

From 7th Grade Spring Trip 09

We stayed overnight at Weifeng in a nice hotel with an attached amusement park. From there, we headed to Zibo where we explored a cave, visited an aviary, played on a ropes course, hiked up a hill, and stood on a piece of the Qin Dynasty wall (kinda like the Great Wall, but smaller).

From 7th Grade Spring Trip 09

Next, we headed to Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius. We stayed two nights there and saw his home, his grave, and the temple dedicated in his honor. Later, we played Capture the Flag between the outer wall of Qufu and its moat.

From 7th Grade Spring Trip 09

From there, we headed to Taishan, the holiest mountain in China. We climbed to the top, ascending about 3,000 steps along the way (we started halfway up the mountain), reaching a final elevation of over 1500 meters. We stayed overnight at the top of the mountain, then headed home the next day.

From 7th Grade Spring Trip 09

The trip was a blast and the kids were great! I can't wait for Spring Trips next year. Enjoy the pictures. :-)

Pictures, Pirates, Pantos!

If you haven't found it yet, I have an album of backstage pictures from the Pantomime here (the same ones as in the slideshow below). More pictures, including onstage pics, are here, here, and here. Finally, there are many pictures from the pirate scenes specifically here, but you'll need a Facebook account to see that album. For those of you who don't, I've added some of my favorites to the end of the slideshow below. Enjoy.

Broken Legs

All our hard work over the last 6 months finally paid off today with two shows. We have a third show tomorrow, so if you haven't seen it yet, please come out and support your local Panto!

I have a lot of backstage pics, and I'm hoping to get some onstage ones soon. As for those of you wondering about my costume, here it is.

From Robinson Crusoe

When you're big in China...

Drama continues to be a big part of my life here. I've become involved with the International Drama Group here which performs mainly British Pantomime. Our next show is



I play the part of the villain, notorious Pirate Captain Blackbeard. The story was picked up in the local paper. You can read the (translated) article here. (And yes, that is my Keep Grace Weird shirt in the photo.)

Happy (Chinese) New Year!

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

It's the year of the Ox here, and the city is celebrating in style. In the land of cheap, plentiful fireworks and lax civic restrictions, everyone's a pyrotechnic artist. The fireworks have been going literally non-stop on all sides since about 6:00pm. In the city, every building serves to echo and magnify the reverberations so that each explosion sounds like ten. The fireworks aren't just the little crackers you get in the States, either (although there are plenty of those). I'm talking about rockets 50 feet in the air, triple bursts of color, and on and on, displays grander and more intricate than any civilian show you've ever seen on the 4th of July. Walking down the street, you feel like there must be a war going on somewhere. I expect to have video soon.