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This podcast tells the story of a year of an English teacher in China, working in an international school in Changshu, Jiangsu. It‘s also full of history and culture. We‘ll go back to the imperial days, the revolutionary days, the days of triumph and the days of humiliation. Mostly though, it‘s modern China that I‘ll focus on, as it is the most relevant to understanding China now. China is super fascinating, and it‘s also probably the most important country in the world to understand right now, so this is my contribution to that. It‘s not a chronological history; instead, it kind of matches up to the things that were occuring in my roller-coaster of a year living in Changshu. I‘ve changed the names of the people I that I met when I was in China, except Jess of course. You‘ll meet Jess later. She‘s awesome. Blog: SMKYpodcast.blogspot.com
Episodes
Oct 28, 2021
Oct 28, 2021
4 min
This podcast tells the story of a year of an English teacher in China, working in an international school in Changshu, Jiangsu.
Click here for extra info: https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com/2021/10/stuck-in-middle-kingdom-with-you.html
It's also full of history and culture. We'll go back to the imperial days, the revolutionary days, the days of triumph and the days of humiliation. Mostly though, it's modern China that I'll focus on, as it is the most relevant to understanding China now. China is super fascinating, and it's also probably the most important country in the world to understand right now, so this is my contribution to that. It's not a chronological history; instead, it kind of matches up to the things that were occuring in my roller-coaster of a year living in Changshu.
I've changed the names of the people I that I met when I was in China, except Jess of course. You'll meet Jess later. She's awesome.
Click here for the blog.
Nov 1, 2021
Nov 1, 2021
15 min
Hi, you've made it to the Stuck in the Middle Kingdom With You podcast, a story of teaching English in China peppered with tales from Chinese history and culture. This is a preface of sorts.
Laowai: rude and offensive or friendly or neutral? I'll spell it out here, 'cos this word is going to come up a few times.
In this episode, we also mention the foreign tutors of China's last emperor and empress. Now that's a job! Shame that it was under such doomed circumstances.
https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com
Email: SMKYPodcast@gmx.com
Nov 7, 2021
Nov 7, 2021
16 min
Hi! Thanks for listening to the SMKY podcast, which is my account of living in China and exploring its history and culture. In this episode I settle into my new apartment which is literally inside the school gates, and talk about the region and the river.
https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com
Email: SMKYPodcast@gmx.com
Nov 14, 2021
Nov 14, 2021
14 min
Hello and thanks for listening to the SMKY podcast. In this episode, I meet most of the other foreign teachers who were to be my colleagues for that year. It was also out first meeting with the Chinese management, and we laowai were ill-prepared for the cultural expectations of such a situation – and it showed.
https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com
Email: SMKYPodcast@gmx.com
Nov 22, 2021
Nov 22, 2021
15 min
This episode introduces one of Changshu's best brains, Wang Ganchang, which leads into the Great Leap Forward. Yes, that Great Leap Forward.
Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com
Twitter: @SMKYpodcast
Nov 28, 2021
Nov 28, 2021
12 min
Hi! Thanks for listening to the SMKY podcast, where we delve into all things China, including living and working there.
This little episode picks up after the slightly explosive meeting we laowai had with the Chinese management team. We get to know some colleagues a bit better and take a group trip into town and get hot pot.
Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com
Twitter @SMKYpodcast
Dec 5, 2021
Dec 5, 2021
24 min
Today we look at the fall of Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaoqi, and then the rise of Deng Xiaoping and capitalism in China. This covers some of the Cultural Revolution, a topic that we'll come back to next time.
Some nice pics to accompany this episode, found on https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com
For anyone interested in the music, this episode featured the Chinese National Anthem, the Mao propaganda song "The East is Red", another Mao propaganda song "Red Sun in the Sky", the 1940s Chinese Communist propaganda song "Without the Communist Party, There Would be No New China", and a Xi Jinping propaganda song called "How Should I Address you?" where poor people declare their love for Xi as he visits their village.
Want to say hi? Email: SMKYPodcast@gmx.com
Dec 13, 2021
Dec 13, 2021
22 min
Hi and welcome back to Stuck in the Middle Kingdom with You, the show about teaching in China and Chinese history. Last time, we touched on the Cultural Revolution in relation to one of its victims, Deng Xiaoping, who would later claw his way back into power and remake China. This time, I find myself in the village of Shajiabang, which was the setting of one of the Cultural Revolution's model operas. So that means we're going back to the 60s, for peak crazy, China-style.
Email: SMKYPodcast@gmx.com
Twitter: SMKYPodcast
Dec 21, 2021
Dec 21, 2021
21 min
On today's podcast, a day in the life at the international school. And the symbols of modern China – flag and anthem – and Mao's tricky Hundred Flowers Campaign.
Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com
Twitter: @SMKYpodcast
Dec 29, 2021
Dec 29, 2021
22 min
A bit of a travelogue episode, finding Changshu's ancient district and the city's sole mountain.
Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com
Twitter: @SMKYPodcast