I’ll tell you the end of the story first. Our camera was stolen, from our apartment, and the thief got away. Unfortunately we only have the one camera and therefore I couldn’t take pictures of the hilarious night that ensued. So you will have to do with pictures I found
The Big Picture: China Edition
Over at Boston.com they have a feature called “The Big Picture” in which they showcase some dramatic/slice-of-life/unknown events through high quality photographs. This time they pointed their lens at China and I think there are some amazing pictures. All of these pictures were taken within the past few months. These
It's as hot as….
This past week was hot. Damn hot. I would come home from teaching 4 hours of class with a shirt so wet with sweat it had salt stains all over it when it dried. And I wasn’t the only one who suffered, the poor students did too. In writing class
The Crazy First Emperor
Quick, name the two most famous tourist sites in China. Yep, you got it, the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors. Believe it or not the two were the mastermind of the same guy: the first emperor. If you’ve seen the movie Hero, then you know who I’m talking about.
In the Snack Aisle
There are plenty of weird things in the snack aisle, but this is a new product that just began showing up everywhere. Of course I had to try it. I figure I’m a fan of the cucumber chips so why not? The verdict? Not bad. The chips were nice and
China in the News (and not for depressing reasons)
The LA Times has recently had some great articles on China. Usually when people report on China it is political and government based things or environmental articles. But maybe in a testament to China’s growing power in the world, articles are now shifting to be more human interest in nature.
Kicking Ass at the Shaolin Temple
I’ve never taken a kung fu class (or karate) and I’ve only seen one Bruce Lee flick yet I have always wanted to go to Shaolin Temple. I’ve read Matthew Polly’s book about training at Shaolin (twice) and even he desribes it as touristy and yet I and have always
Kaifeng's Night Market
Kaifeng has some ancient buildings, historical pagoda’s and astounding sculptures but that the people really come for is the night market. Held in the middle of the city every night the night market is overflowing with skewers of meat, pounded peanut cakes, breads cooked in small charcoal ovens and lots
One Year Later
One year ago today I was getting off a plane in Shanghai to begin my Chinese adventure. One year ago I was waking up only an hour after I fell asleep, feverish and confused in my surroundings due to extreme jetlag. One year ago today I was walking into stores
The Statue with a Thousand Hands and Eyes
In the middle of Kaifeng stands the Temple of the Chief Minister. And in the middle of that temple stands one of the most amazing statues I have ever seen. The Four-Faced Thousand Eyes Thousand Hand Statue of Guanyin. It is an amazing statue, towering at 23 feet and in