Things are humming along, as they tend to do in the mid-semester mark. The flurry and excitement of the break and new semester has worn off, and the end of the semester is just a bit too far away to get worked up about yet. But life goes on in
10 Signs You've Lived in China a Long Time
I’m fast approaching my five year anniversary in China and I find it almost laughable when people ask me if I’m accustomed to life in China. If I wasn’t I should just pack it in at this point! In fact, I take many aspects of life in China, once considered
Chinese-Style Plumbing
About a year ago I complained about a small leak from my bathroom into the hallway. My bathroom is fine, the leak is in the wall, and despite numerous more complaints over the year, I was told it was “too difficult” to fix. I even has an engineering student check
Spending Time in a Chinese Hospital
No one can avoid the doctor forever and with almost 5 years under my belt, I finally landed myself in a Chinese hospital. Well, I guess I should say a hospital in China, as the one I went to was a western style hospital in Hangzhou. They had a high
Solitude and Craziness
So before I go traveling I have about a month of doing nothing. The first few weeks flew by, with lunch and dinner appointments, friends birthdays (In Shanghai and elsewhere), and hangouts with students and friends. But now everyone has gone back home, all the foreign teachers have left for
Chinese Scrapping, or Gua Sha (aka, massage from hell)
I wrote awhile ago that I had recently rediscovered the joys of a good massage. You don’t go for the comfort factor, most massages in China are the pressure-point style ones and must be endured, but I find that afterwards it feels really, really good. I don’t go that often,
Merry Apple Christmas Eve
There’s not much Christmas traditions here in China. Restaurants leave up Christmas trees and decorations all year long, and it’s not strange to hear a Christmas song any time of the year in rotation with Justin Beiber and that annoying Titanic song. But there is one major Christmas tradition in
The First LGBT PSA Made for China
So there is a new PSA making its rounds around chinese social media these days. It’s a PSA supporting the LGBT community and it’s well done. (Youtube video. If you in China, check out the youku version.) I’m really glad this is getting more talked about. Just like in the
Counterfeit Money in China
China’s famous for fakes and fake money is a huge problem. Every store has a little “money checking” machines that they run 100 rmb notes through to make sure they’re real, but I didn’t know they were so careful about the smaller bills too. My friend got some fried rice
Wang Leehoms Done it Again
My favorite Chinese pop star rocked the online world when he announced he has a new girlfriend. You see, despite being 37-years-old Wang Leehom has been very hush-hush about his love life. He’s had some ex-girlfriends but they’re never really out and about flaunting it publicly and he doesn’t talk