Hello! My name is Joshua B. Winskowski, I’m from Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, and I’m about to begin my seventh year living in China. During these past years, I’ve had the opportunity to live in Henan province, Shandong province’s Weihai, as well as Shanghai, at times as a teacher, at others, as a student. Most importantly, these years also introduced me to my wonderful wife, who hails from Henan’s Shangqiu.

During my undergraduate career, I completed dual A.A. degrees in English and Philosophy at Maryland’s Harford Community College before transferring to the University of Maryland, College Park, where I completed my B.A. in English Language and Literature, with an emphasis in 20th Century British and American literature. More recently, I just completed my MPhil in Chinese Philosophy and Culture at Fudan University.

In my free time, I enjoy reading and studying, watching movies, playing chess, and playing guitar. I’ve also been practicing martial arts for over ten years, and, in fact, I spent my first year in China living in Henan’s Songshan at a wushu school associated with the Shaolin Temple. What defines me most as a person, however, is this: I love to learn. One of the reasons I came to China, and the main reason I’ve stayed so long, is that the language, the history, and the culture have offered so much to learn about. And, as someone who loves to learn, I also love teaching, because it’s a career that allows me to help others by sharing my love of learning with them, while continuing to learn myself.

This year, I very much look forward to sharing that love of learning with my students at Hangzhou Foreign Language school. This is my first time to Hangzhou, yet between its lush, green mountains, which recall for me Songshan, the warmth and friendliness of its people, which remind me of great years in Weihai, as well as the earnestness and enthusiasm I’ve seen in Hangwai’s students, all signs indicate that, as for this next chapter of my life in China, I couldn’t have found my way to a better place.