Friday, June 09, 2006

Moseying


Jinhua
Originally uploaded by serapio.
It's finally happening. Starting in September, I will be teaching English at Zhejiang Normal University in Jinhua. It's apparently a university of just 20000 students, and the city might have anywhere between 300,000 people and 4 million, depending on who you read. (I think it might be confusion about Jinhua being a city within an administrative division, within a prefecture.) Someone fought somebody else here in the 4th century, and some poet during the Song dynasty claimed it was pretty, but otherwise it seems like a fairly unremarkable place. But I'm hopeful. In this view from Google Earth (you can check it out for yourself), we see Jinhua with mountains in the background, and the measuring tool tells me it's just 9 miles from the river to the mountain top, with an elevation gain of 3500 feet. I can't find the university, but it is said to be in "the northern suburbs", which must put it within just a couple miles of the base of the mountain. The city is also just a couple hours drive from Hangzhou, which was once likely the largest city in the world, and is often described as the most beautiful.

6 comments:

slowlane said...

Very cool. Congratulations!

Brian said...

I am very excited that you will be going to China. I didn't even know there was a Jinhau, and now you will be a Jinhauese. I am very proud of what you are doing.

However, I am somewhat curious about the motto at the top of the web introduction to the university. It says, "Teach them fish, and they will fish for lifetime." Is that parallel, for example, to "Teach them students, and they will student for lifetime?" What exactly is the educational philosophy of this university, and what level of ichthyology will you be teaching?

caedmonstia said...

I am just relieved that you will be teaching at a NORMAL university and not a WIERD university or a BIZARRE university. That would be a smudge on the family normality. What would I tell my friends?

Anonymous said...

BRAVO serapio! you done well for yourself. i require details at tomorrow's luncheon.

serapio said...

Thanks all.

mr carroll: I think it's actually a reference to this game, acknowledging how addictive it is.

tia: far be it from me to do anything abnormal.

Unknown said...

you never cease to amaze me, cuz. i'm glad we're related, so people can say things like: "those carrolls, they do the most incredible things!" your family's coattails are like a roller coaster.