As I rode the slick new escalators up the side of the mountain in the Xiamen botanical Gardens, I hated myself a little. Why was I here, supporting the destruction and abuse of this gorgeous natural mountain? I mean, is
From Zero Covid to Zero F&#*s
So I’m sure you heard about the protests in some of the major cities in China against the government and the strict Covid policies. But what happened after? From the beginning China has followed a “zero covid” policy, which means
The Instagrammification of a Beach
You’d think in a country where Instagram was blocked there would be no Instagrammification of places. But then you’d be wrong…very wrong.
The Stuff of Nightmares
Recently I’ve been noticing a lot of “Ai Art” around on the internet. Sometimes created by my friends, sometimes in ads, I have noticed very interesting and intriguing artwork all labeled “Ai.” I also watched a youtube video about design
The (Surprising) Best Chinese Food for a Picnic
Since I’ve been living at the beach there have been a lot of picnics. A lot, a lot. So many picnics. I mean, when I make a meal I have two options, sit at the table in my apartment staring
Adventures in TranslationLand
When I first came to China, 13 years ago, we didn’t have things like smart phones and instant translation apps. In a way I’m grateful, as it forced me to learn Chinese to do the most basic things like order
Walking with Pikachu
I’m not sure how it started. Maybe I just thought it was cute the way my Taiwanese boyfriend pronounced Pikachu (pi-ka-que), but for the past five years, every time one of sees a Pikachu doll, toy, game etc we have
Here We Go Again!
Bored, playing around on my computer the other day, I started looking through old bookmarks on my browser. Since I have been an Apple user for a long time, whenever I get a new device or computer, it copies everything
The Five Books I Keep Returning To
As a (attempting) minimalist, and a traveler who has no permanent home base, I try to keep as little stuff as possible, which is quite a feat given that I have natural pack rat tendencies, and enjoy collections (hello spoons
“Do You Like Bread?”
I passed by a friendly woman whose family I buy fruit from and stopped for a minute to chat. She was standing in front of a cooler she had dragged out from her store a little down a side street