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Casual International Teacher Conference Days 6 - 8: The Conference Itself, and Getting Home

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Monday, December 1st, 2025 7:18 PM Hong Kong International Airport Ah, now to the actual reason I was here, the conference through which I was able to attain this free trip to China in the first place. I would break my trip up into 3 parts: Solo Hong Kong, Group Trip Guangzhou, and now this -- the Deeper Learning China conference. I have enjoyed all three parts of my trip for different reasons. Hong Kong was just so fucking cool . I would have to come back and spend more time here. China was fascinating and so different, and I am glad my first time here was with a guide, as China was "post credit card," which feels insane to me and my Western sensibilities (seriously, they seemed to view credit cards the way we view checks -- they like apps like Apple Pay, but even that was not always something they accepted, as the far favored preference of stores and cafes and restaurants was either the app Alipay or the app WeChat, which seems to be a mix of messaging, social media, and fi...
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Casual International Teacher Conference Day 5: Guangzhou Tour Group Part B -- More Sightseeing!

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Saturday, November 29th, 2025 10:31 AM GUIS, Nansha, China (Talking about Thursday) I love having Google Suite again. I have decided not to think too hard about what it means that I am so reliant on it and that so much of my internet access relies on access to Google as well. ANYWAY, we had a bigger group today, with 3 new people joining us -- Madison, a 7th grade Math & Science Teacher at High Tech Middle Mesa, Nuvia, a director at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education, and Nuvia's husband Jim, an author. On the way down to breakfast, I was in the elevator with several other Chinese people and then a white guy from either England or Australia. At one point, the elevator doors open, and the only thing that comes in is a robot that seems to specifically be used for room service. I started laughing, and the white guy kind of just shook his head and told me "you never get used to it." After breakfast, we get back in the van and head into the city to go to a par...
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Casual International Teacher Conference Day 5: Guangzhou Tour Group Part A -- Ancient Chinese History and an Allergic Reaction

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Saturday, November 29th, 2025 9:34 PM GUIS, Nansha, China (Talking about Wednesday) A hotel buffet in China is expansive. There's traditional Chinese breakfast, such as four different types of congee (traditional, with pork, with seafood, and oatmeal), with toppings you can add to it (chives, egg, soy sauce, chili peppers). There's dim sum. There's pastries. Cheong fan eggs, fried eggs, and an omelette bar. A won ton soup station. Cereal. Black tea. Coffee. Hot water. Fruit (including dragonfruit!). It can be overwhelming. Where do you start? What do you want? I got about 4 cups of black tea with some congee and pastries, and then I made my way downstairs. I was wearing my new shirt from Hong Kong, which was pretty exciting (for me), but the tour guide told me it would get cold at night so I needed to grab a sweatshirt. Thus began our hour drive into the city. I was in a van with the tour guide (English name: Shadow), Ben again (Chinese name: Xiaolei), Maria (a Brazilian wo...
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