Expat Jimmy is the latest book from blogger and writer Travis Lee. I will start with an apology because I’m a total jerk. Travis sent me the book ages ago, and I read it, and then I completely forgot about it and never wrote about it. Total duh moment. Expat
How to Type Chinese on the Computer and Other Questions
I’ve had a lot of repeated questions about China and while many are based on stereotypes (no, most people don’t eat dogs and Chinese animal activists are making sure that the small little villages that still do cease forever) some are actually good questions I thought I’d take a moment
Young Tibetan Artists Need Your Help!
Western Women who date and marry asian men stick together. I’ve mentioned it a few times but I’m a member of a group called WWAM and I have met many, many amazing women over the years from it. Since becoming online friends I have met several in real life and
Young China – A Review
Us China expats are an arrogant lot. Succeeding in China is rough and long-term expats see many friends over the years who can’t handle it, or hate it, and leave. That gives us a sense of that we are “survivors” and when new expats come we can dazzle them with
Chinese Kids Wishes to Santa
In my writing class I asked my students to write a letter to Santa. “Tell Santa if you’ve been a good girl or boy and ask Santa for something you want,” I said. While my students all know about Santa they obviously have never written a letter to Santa like
Featured on NPR!
If you don’t follow my badminton blog then you haven’t heard the good news yet! I was featured on NPR’s Only a Game this month! Listen to the 8-minute interview here! For those of you that don’t know what NPR is it stands for National Public Radio in America. It’s
Living a Cashless Life in China — Firsthand Experience
You may have read recently about how China leads the world in mobile payment. How people are giving up their bills and change for their more convenient smart phones. How even Chinese airports are striving to become the first cashless airport where you can’t even use cash if you have
When Putin Comes to Town
The acronym on everyone’s lips in Xiamen these past few weeks is BRICS. It stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Why and how these five random countries decided to team up is anyone guess (because I don’t care enough to Google it) but as the presidents from
Walking 10,000 Steps Everyday for a Year
I can’t believe I forgot to write this post. Way back in March of 2016 I wrote about walking 10,000 steps everyday for six-months and how I was really going for a year. I wrote about the hardships, getting my steps in while I was sick and how I had
Summer Holiday Time Again
A few blog posts ago I was talking about the semester beginning, and now here I am talking about the ending. For the past month I have been free, with more than 2 months left in my holiday. (Usually my holiday is 2 months but this summer it’s freakishly long.)