Yin-yang : American perspectives on living in China / edited by Alice Renouf and Mary Beth Ryan-Maher.

"China has become one of the largest study and teach-abroad, travel, and business destinations in the world. Yet few books offer a diversity of perspectives and locales for Westerners considering the leap. This unique collection of letters offers a rarely seen, intimate, and refreshingly honest view of living and working in China. Here, ordinary people-students, teachers, professionals, and parents-recount their experiences in venues ranging from classrooms to marketplaces to holy mountains. The writers are genuine participants in the daily life of their adopted country, and woven through their correspondence is the compelling theme of outsiders coping in a culture that is vastly foreign to them and the underlying love-hate struggle it engenders. Written in a down-to-earth, personal, often humorous, always authentic style, these tales of trials, successes, and failures offer invaluable insight into a country that remains endlessly fascinating to Westerners"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword / by Terry Lautz -- Preface / by Alice Renouf -- List of cities and provinces where teachers lived and taught -- List of travel destinations -- China arrival : settling in can be so unsettling -- Teaching : a seriously exhausting endeavor! -- Cross-cultural experiences : Which side of the mirror am I on? -- Day-to-day living : think Chinese, be Chinese -- Travel : from Shanghai skyscrapers to the bamboo houses of Xishuangbanna -- Families coping : babies, rabies, scabies, and flu, no problem -- Going home : Man zou, Zhongguo! (Take it easy, China!) -- Epilogue : looking back -- List of blogs.