The subhead of this post is something I used to chant with my middle schoolers, to get them comfortable with speaking while facing up to the possibility that they might make mistakes. But the substance of this weeks video is about those kids who are shy … and why they like me as their teacher.

Also, it was so hot our first week of school that the government called it off for a heat day; my first one of those. To me, it didn’t feel crazy hot … not more so than usual for Luzhou summer, but I did also spend the day in the air conditioning inside. And I’m not one to look a gift day off in the mouth. What?

School has started up again, and we’re all trying to look our best. At every age.

China can be a really chaotic place. Forget about plans changing last minute; sometimes plans aren’t even made until the last minute. Just today, I was part of another surprise photo shoot at school. It’s a difficult way to get things done.

But you can wail against the flow, or gracefully bob along on the tide. One way is a heck of a lot more likely to be a pleasant journey. One way is also a lot more honest about how much control we actually have over our lives…

I read a book! Here’s what I thought of it.

Uncle’s Shorts has been promoted to our flagship series, and as such will be the Thursday video until further notice. In this one, a pair of stories in which I consider my aging body and how weird it is, as well as the noises we all make at the gym and how liberating that is! Enjoy.

These are just a few of our favorite dishes. With a side serving of creepiness, because that’s just how life is sometimes.

This week, after a brief hiatus, we welcome back Uncle’s Shorts with a vengeance! Or, at least a compendium. There’s a lot of ground to cover, a little complaining, a little explaining … you know, the vlog basics. Just remember, your suspicions are correct: All foreigners know each other. Noodles to you!

Due to a website error, I’ve had to type this description out five times. The video is good. Please watch it.

This was a fun one to make … Peter and I really let our imaginations fly as we virtually revisited our favorite place on earth. Lamma Island is one of the big-small islands of Hong Kong, I guess. We love it, and we gave it the green screen treatment here, because we aren’t traveling much these days.

It’s a double-edged sword (moreso, I’m sure for the people who actually live there), in that I think people should know about this magical place, but I don’t want to be a part of ruining the small-town charm with too much exposure, or badly behaving tourists. So, just promise me this: If you go, you’ll be cool.

Our weekly roundup is becoming a thing! We’ve got regular segments, catch phrases, banter, and a ukulele. Also, we seem to have figured out the chipmunk effect; YouTube says to use a sample rate of 44.1kHz, but 48kHz is what works for us. So, there.