Novels: An American in China: Starting Over
Follow author Shaun Roundy as he travels to Taiwan to teach English for six months, extends his stay, and eventually ends up in China studying Chinese.
Chess players on the web have a free place to play at Chess Hounds.
Here you play in your web browser, not some proprietary chess program, so firewalls don't get in the way like they do with most proprietary systems.
Come ride the pony!