The line snaked off into the distance, with no end in sight.
Standing on the peak of Taishan, holding a camera for a newlywed couple from Shenzhen, I heard the woman suddenly yell to me in Cantonese.
When I was a new teacher in China, every day I taught English to my students and they taught me about China.
The Chinese know it, and so do the Russians, but Hainan is a mystery to most of my friends.
One of the best parts of studying Chinese in China is overhearing conversations between people who assume I can't understand them.
I'm never that keen to get my hair cut. I let it get to the point where I can barely stand it, and then make the trip to get it done.
"Little monkey, c'm'ere a moment!" The man sitting next to me beckoned.
I have recently had a revelation that may very well have changed my life.
There are days when I miss Australia. I miss small things, like the smell of the eucalypts drying in the summer heat, or the crash of the sea onto the banks.
An old wise man once told me that every event in life, even if it is tragic, offers a learning experience.
Mama always taught me to remember my "pleases" and "thank-yous", but my Chinese friends have been trying to teach me to forget them.